


Solace In Nihility v2

by WolfGoddess77



Series: Kingdom Hearts Oneshots [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Complete, Eventual Sex, F/M, Female Solo, Friends to Lovers, Kingdom Hearts Freeform, Mild Voyeurism, Oral Sex, Organization XIII Freeform, Porn With Plot, Reader-Insert, Sex, Smut, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Violence, mild exhibitionism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 17:12:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 33,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11017854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfGoddess77/pseuds/WolfGoddess77
Summary: Rewritten. When a new Nobody shows up in The City That Never Was, Axel teaches her that her new situation isn't all bad. Axel/Reader





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, wow. When I started rewriting this, I had no idea that it was going to get away from me this much. I've never had a story do that before. It got to the point where I figured it would be better to split it into two parts for convenience of reading. There are still a lot of elements of the original in it, but I changed a good bit of it. I hope it turned out all right!
> 
>  
> 
> Smut to come in part two!  
> \---
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any related characters, nor do I own you. No money is made from the writing of this story.

You were falling slowly, your hair fluttering around you. Where were you…? Above your head – or rather, _below_ ; you were falling headfirst – you saw a giant white disk, glowing brilliantly enough to hurt your eyes. It continued to grow larger as you came closer, until finally, you flipped over, landing softly in the center of it.

 

As you touched down, the glow suddenly faded, revealing what looked like a stained-glass window covering the entire surface. It was difficult to make out the picture, since you were so close to it. You took a few steps back, and your eyes widened. It was… _you_. You were reclined against the border of the “window”, your eyes closed. In your hand, you held a long, dark whip, coiled up into neat circles. Some kind of black substance rose from it; it looked like pieces of it were flaking away. In the background, you could see a large castle made of grey stone, almost incandescent against a dark sky. The border you leaned against was filled with several large circles, each one depicting a different numeral. For some reason, looking at the entire image hurt, like something in your chest had just been torn into pieces. Unconsciously, you reached up, your fingers clutching the fabric of your shirt, as if this could stave off the pain.

 

Suddenly, the disk beneath you began to quake, and cracks opened up in various places over the surface. As you watched, the fissures widened, and what looked like writhing black and blue flames rose up out of them. The image continued to break apart, until you could barely make out what it had been.

 

The pieces began to glow with that same blindingly white light, and then they _shattered_ , the small shards floating up past you, rather than falling down, as you might have expected. As you tried to turn around to get a better look, a beam of dark light shot out of the void surrounding you. It struck you in the back, between your shoulderblades. It pierced completely through you, sending a shockwave of agony rippling out through the point of impact, and you opened your mouth to scream, but no sound emerged. Everything was completely silent; had been from the beginning. You felt something inside you break apart, evaporating into nothing. As quickly as the pain came, it was gone, leaving you with a feeling of emptiness that you had never felt before. When you looked down, you saw that the lance of light had disappeared; there was no proof that it had ever been there in the first place. Had you imagined it? No, that hollowness was real; it still lingered within you.

 

You wrapped your arms tightly around yourself, giving what would have been a soft whimper, if you had been able to make noise. A sudden warmth at your back caught your attention, and you realized that someone was standing behind you; you could _feel_ their presence there, but when you turned around, you saw nothing except the blackness that surrounded you. In spite of not being able to see anything, you could sense the presence beginning to fade away, until it fully disappeared, leaving you alone in this place.

 

One hand reached out, as if you could grab whoever it was that had been there with you, but as you did this, you began to fall again, surrounded by the still-glowing shards of what had been that strange, melancholy image. They glittered like stars, but even as you watched, they were slowly eaten up by blackness, the glow dimming, and finally fading altogether, swallowed up as if they had never been.

 

You curled in on yourself, closing your eyes, hoping this might help to fight off the unsettling sensations you now felt. Even if you didn’t fully understand what was happening, you knew that you were lost, had been the moment you entered this strange world. Lost, alone… _fractured_. The darkness engulfed you, and you knew no more.

 

* * *

 

 

When your eyes opened again, you found yourself lying in a dark street of an even darker city. You raised your head, looking around. This place was unfamiliar; you had no idea how you had gotten here. The last thing you remembered was being chased through the streets of your hometown, and then… Had you fallen? You thought you remembered some kind of light, and…pain? But from what? Something felt different, though you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was. You were so disoriented that it was difficult to focus.

 

“Finally awake, huh?” The voice came from somewhere to your left, gentle and friendly. Turning your head, you saw a pair of black boots, and the hem of a long coat of the same color. Your gaze traveled up, and _up_ … He – the figure was male, you saw – was tall, the coat clinging to his lithe form. He was leaned back against the wall of a building, his arms crossed as he looked down at you. His vivid red hair was swept back away from his face, the strands terminating in spikes, instead of lying flat against his back. Even in the gloom, his skin looked tan rather than creamy, though you couldn’t tell if it was from sunlight or if it was his natural tone. The slightly slanted eyes that watched you so intently were a bright, beautiful green, with the faintest hint of a blue overlay. Beneath each one was what looked like an inverted purple teardrop.

 

Slowly, you pulled yourself up onto your knees. “Where…am I?” you murmured.

 

“Well, this is a good sign. You’re able to talk normally enough. That doesn’t always happen, you know. You’re in The City That Never Was. Our world.” He straightened, moving over to you and kneeling down, propping one arm up on a bent knee. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

You thought for a moment, your eyes troubled. “I was…being chased by these black things. A group of them cornered me. They attacked, and then… What _happened_ to me?” Those creatures had been sighted in your home before, usually singly or in pairs, and always from a distance. After watching them for some time, you had come to the conclusion that they didn’t have great intelligence; they seemed to operate mostly on instinct. The group you had been cornered by had been the largest number you had ever seen until that point. They had seemed harmless enough, until they had gotten close to you. Then they had suddenly become menacing and dangerous.

 

He offered one black-gloved hand to you, flashing you a smile. “Come with me. You don’t want to be left out here on your own, and I can take you to someone who’ll answer your questions for you.” 

 

You looked up at him, then down at his hand. Drawing your legs beneath you, you tensed your body, preparing to run, should you have to. “I don’t even know you,” you said, leaning back slightly. “What is this place? What happened to me? Am I… Did I die when those things attacked me?”

 

Quickly, he held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Whoa now, take it easy. I’m not gonna hurt you, and you’ll have an answer for all of your questions in just a few minutes.” His eyes narrowed slightly; he could see that you were beginning to panic. You couldn’t open a Corridor, so there was no risk of you escaping the City, and you were probably still weak after your ordeal, meaning you wouldn’t get far, even if you did run. But he didn’t want to have to hunt you down. “My name is Axel. Look, you’re not dead, and it’s all right to be scared. But isn’t it better to be scared _with_ someone, instead of by yourself?” Once again, he extended his hand. “Come on.”

 

You studied him closely for several long seconds. Inwardly, you had to admit that he had a point; the presence of someone else in this strange place was preferable to the alternative, even if he was a stranger. Slowly, you reached out, placing your hand in his larger one. His fingers enveloped yours, and through the fabric of his glove, you could feel his warmth; it was a nice sensation, here in this cold place. Axel stood up, easily pulling you along with him. He waved his free hand, and an oval wall of what looked like black flames sprang up in front of the two of you, making you take a startled step back. But he still had hold of you, so you couldn’t go anywhere. The semblance of fire twisted around itself, forming a kind of frame. Within it was a shimmering purple void. He turned to look at you, gesturing to it. “Go ahead, step through.”

 

You hesitated, not sure how far you were willing to trust him. His grip on your hand wasn’t tight, so you could probably pull away if you really wanted to. The two of you had only just met, but he had kept his word so far; you were still safe. Still, there was no telling what that thing might do to you if you got too close to it. While he had convinced you to believe him to a point, you weren’t sure you wanted to follow him into the unknown.

 

He gave a soft sigh, and before you could react, he had released your hand, placing it between your shoulderblades. He wasn’t rough, merely firm. “You’re really distrustful, you know that?” He stepped forward, pushing you along. “Now, in you go.” Before you could protest further, he had guided you through the portal, following closely behind you.

 

In an instant, you found yourself standing in the middle of a blindingly white room, on some kind of raised dais. After the darkness of the street, the brightness hurt your eyes, and you winced. All around you were tall seats, each one set at a different height. However, you didn’t have long to examine your surroundings; in front of you was another figure that commanded your attention.

 

Vaguely, you noticed that he was wearing an outfit almost identical to Axel’s, though his didn’t contour to his body as snugly as your companion’s did, and the sleeves were a bit looser. What drew your gaze were his own eyes; a blazing amber, they seemed to glow, even here in this bright room. His skin was dark, contrasting sharply with his long, messy silver hair. He was coldly handsome, and you could practically feel the waves of intimidation rolling off of him. This man was _powerful_. You knew that even without needing to be told.

 

“This is our Superior, Xemnas,” Axel explained, appearing at your side as the portal faded behind you. “He’ll tell you what happened to you.”

 

The man named Xemnas stepped forward, stopping a few feet away. He studied you for several long seconds, making you shift uncomfortably under his unsettling gaze. “Can you feel it? That emptiness within you?” he asked at last, his voice a smooth bass that resonated from deep within his broad chest.

 

You looked away, troubled. “I…I feel _something_ , but I don’t…”

 

To your relief, he shifted his attention to Axel. “How much did you tell her about her new existence?”

 

Axel shook his head. “You just told me to bring her back here; you never said anything about explaining things, too. I thought you might want to do it, given that you’re our leader and all.”

 

You looked between the two of them as they conversed. Axel’s tone was surprisingly informal, almost flippant. There was just the barest undercurrent of respect running beneath his words. Your gaze immediately returned to Xemnas as he turned back towards you.

 

“You are no longer who you once were,” he began. “You are incomplete; a shell of your former self. A Nobody, devoid of a heart, empty of emotions.”

 

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “A…Nobody? What do you mean, devoid of a heart?”

 

“We are born when the heart is removed from the body of a person with a strong will. If that will is powerful enough, it takes physical form; the shape of the one it belonged to.” He placed his hands against his own chest. “We call ourselves Nobodies, for we no longer exist as we once were. Stripped of our hearts and emotions, we retain them only as memories, empty feelings that mean next to nothing.”

 

 _We?_ He seemed to be including himself in that little speech. And…Axel, too? You looked over at your companion, and he nodded once in confirmation, reading the question on your face. Somehow, oddly, it made you feel just a little better to know that you weren’t alone in this, even though you weren’t sure you fully understood everything about what you had just heard. It was going to take some time to fully absorb all of this.

 

Xemnas’s voice brought your attention back to him. “You have no place to return to, but we can give you one. You will once again have a purpose, should you chose to remain here as one of us. Is that what you desire?”

 

The question made you hesitate. In truth, you didn’t know what it was you wanted. All of this had left you utterly bewildered. But as you thought about it, one thing became clear. Regardless of what you were, you didn’t want to be alone.

 

“Yes,” you said finally, your voice firm. “That’s what I want.”

 

The faintest hint of a smile came to his face at your words. “Do you remember your name?”

 

You nodded. “I’m…” Your voice trailed off, then. _We no longer exist as we once were._ Did that name still belong to you, now that you had become something else? “I _was_ (Name).”

 

“No longer.” He raised one gloved hand, and in the air between you, large, shimmering letters appeared, each one golden and translucent. They hovered in front of you, spelling out your name. He waved his hand, and the letters separated, dancing around each other as they switched positions. When they settled again, they were scrambled. A final letter faded into existence, situating itself in with the others. Your new name hung there in the air for a few moments, then disappeared as if it had never been. “You are now (Name). Beginning now, you will serve the Organization.” Those shockingly amber eyes shifted to your companion. “Axel will further explain things to you.”

 

The redhead stiffened slightly, not having expected this. “I will?” When Xemnas simply stared at him, he sighed, reaching up to rub one hand over the back of his head. “I mean, right. I will.”

 

The Superior nodded, turning away. “You’re dismissed.”

 

You blinked; that had ended faster than you expected, and you were only slightly less confused than you had been when you first woke up. Xemnas and Axel had given you some of the pieces, but so much of the puzzle was still missing that you couldn’t even begin to guess at what the full picture might be.

 

Axel turned, and another portal sprang up behind you. “I’ll take you to your new room.” He waved one arm, inviting you through the void. This time, knowing that you wouldn’t be harmed, you stepped through it without worry. When you exited, you were standing in a shadowy room, unadorned except for a bed and a large rectangular window. Through it, you could see the dark sky, devoid of stars. Everything was a cool shade of grey; it was so impersonal, almost alien. You felt a shiver run up your spine in response.

 

On the bed was a coat identical to Axel’s and Xemnas’s. On top of it were a pair of gloves and pants, and on the floor was a pair of knee-high boots. Every article was the same deep shade of black. It looked like this was the Organization’s uniform. You stepped forward, picking up the gloves and turning them over in your hands. The material was surprisingly soft, and thinner than you imagined it would be. No wonder you had felt Axel’s warmth through it. Your hands moved to the front of the coat, and the silver accents that decorated the front chimed softly as you touched them.

 

You looked back over your shoulder as you heard the sound of Axel shifting behind you. “So, I know I was told to explain things to you, and I will. But if you’d rather wait, I’ll leave.” When you didn’t respond immediately, he turned, reaching for the door handle.

 

Suddenly, you spun around, reaching out and catching hold of the back of his coat. “Don’t go yet. I don’t want to be left alone in this place.”

 

He faced you once more, arching one sharp eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t trust me?”

 

You looked away, the gloves still in your hand. “I never said that. It’s just… It’s so empty here. I’m not used to any of this, and I don’t want to face it by myself. Not so soon after I became…what I am. Please. Just for a little while?”

 

Axel studied you for a moment. Without warning, he reached out, patting you on the shoulder and making you jump. “Cheer up. You survived your heart being taken. That’s a big accomplishment that not many can claim. In fact, I can almost count the number on two hands.” He moved past you, sitting down on the bed.

 

Slowly, you sat down beside him, putting the gloves back down on top of the coat. For a long time, you didn’t speak, trying to collect your thoughts. But before long, the silence became oppressive, pushing down on you from all sides and threatening to swallow you up. “What is this Organization that Xemnas mentioned?” you asked.

 

“It’s what we’re known as. One by one, he gathered up every Nobody that he could find, and brought us here. We were given new names, and titles that reflect our abilities.” He glanced over at you. “You’ll probably get your own title soon, once we find out what you can do.”

 

You gazed at him blankly. “I have an ability?” This was news to you. If you’d had something like that, it certainly hadn’t been active before you’d lost your heart. Otherwise, it might have been able to save you.

 

“All of us do,” Axel confirmed. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t have one, too. When we became Nobodies, we developed powers that we didn’t have when we were whole. It might take a while to find yours, but it’s there, somewhere.” Folding his arms behind his head, he lay back on the bed, closing his eyes.

 

“But why are we all here? Couldn’t we just…go back to our homes?” You looked down at your hands. “If we keep our original forms, even after losing our hearts, then why can’t we go back to our old lives?”

 

“For the same reason that you accepted the offer to join us. When we lost our hearts, we lost who we were. Xemnas gave us a purpose: we’re trying to create Kingdom Hearts. If we collect enough hearts, we can complete it, and when we do, we’ll be whole again ourselves.”

 

You froze when you heard this, making Axel open his eyes and look over at you.

 

“What…did you say?” you whispered, your voice barely audible. Something clenched tightly in your chest, sending a tingle through your body.

 

This was the first real spark of life you had shown since Axel found you in the street, and it made a grin spread across his handsome face as he watched your reaction. “Sounds pretty good, huh? I said, you can get your heart back.” He touched his temple with one finger. “Got it memorized?”

 

“Yeah,” you murmured, a small smile coming to your own face for the first time. “Yeah, I do.” You reached up, placing a hand over your chest. “And all we have to do is collect hearts? How do we do that?”

 

“Those things that attacked you are called Heartless. They’re what happens to a person when their heart is stolen. The empty body becomes one of them; it’s how they reproduce. But if they’re destroyed, all the hearts they’ve gathered are released, and if we collect enough of them, Kingdom Hearts will be created.”

 

“That doesn’t sound so hard,” you admitted. “Those things are everywhere, aren’t they? I remember seeing them sometimes…”

 

He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Only one thing can collect hearts, and that’s a Keyblade. Without that, Kingdom Hearts will never be finished. So far, we haven’t been able to find anyone who has one. But with any luck, you will.”

 

You fell silent, thinking about this. As you did, you studied him. He had closed his eyes again, you noticed. If he hadn’t just been talking, you might have thought he had fallen asleep. How he could look so… _at home_ …was beyond you. While you felt like you were living in a body that didn’t belong to you, the same couldn’t be said of him. He seemed perfectly comfortable. You had to wonder just how long he had been a Nobody. That wasn’t any of your business, though, nor was it an appropriate topic. Such a thing seemed like a very personal question, and you didn’t want to risk crossing a line and alienating him.

 

When you made no effort to speak again, Axel opened his eyes, sitting up and propping himself up on one hand. “You should get some rest. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, if you want.” Normally, he wasn’t in the business of trying to cheer up the other members of the Organization; really, he couldn’t care less about them most of the time, but he had also never seen any of them on the verge of panic like you had been, either. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he felt a faint trickle of sympathy for your situation. It had been a long time since he had become a Nobody, and he had gotten used to what it felt like. But all of this was new to you, and you were clearly frightened by it. For some reason, though, you seemed to like having him there with you, even if he didn’t understand why.

 

“You don’t have to, if you have something else to do,” you replied quickly, not wanting to push his generosity too far. Nevertheless, you felt a glow of warmth spread through you at his offer. When Xemnas had ordered Axel to explain things to you, it had seemed like he found it troublesome, so it surprised you that not only did he say he would stay, it had been his idea.

 

He waved his free hand. “Nah, I’ve finished my mission for today. I’m free to do whatever I want.”

 

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to babysit the new girl. I don’t like it here, but I’ll be fine on my own. This can’t be very entertaining for you.”

 

This made him give a short laugh, which surprised you. “Babysitting? Not likely; Nobodies can take care of themselves. Even those of us who haven’t found our abilities yet. Look, if you want me to go, I’ll go. But if not, I’ll stay here with you until you fall asleep. Your choice.”

 

“You know, Xemnas said we don’t have hearts or emotions, but you could have fooled me. Are all Nobodies like you?” There was something about him that was so… _vibrant_. If this was what he was like as a Nobody, what had he been like when he was still whole? Perhaps that was what drew you to him. He was so full of life that he chased away some of the emptiness within you.

 

That playful smile returned to his face; you liked that expression, you realized. “Not even close. I’m one of a kind.”

 

Again, the ghost of a smile appeared on your own lips in response to this. “Is that so? That might actually be a good thing; I’m not sure the world could handle two of you.” Slowly, you lay down on your side, curling up into a ball. “But I would…like it if you stayed. Just a few more minutes.” You closed your eyes, giving a soft sigh. Exhaustion was slowly creeping up on you, now that you were starting to relax.

 

For several minutes, silence reigned, but at last, you broke it again. “…Axel?” It was the first time you had said his name aloud, and your voice was very quiet, as if you weren’t sure you should be saying it.

 

“Mm?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

You felt his body twitch slightly, telling you that your words had taken him a little off-guard. “For what?”

 

“For…staying here with me. For telling me that I’m going to be all right. All of this is so new to me, and I would have panicked if I had been alone. I know it was just coincidence that you were the one who was sent to find me, but… I appreciate it, that’s all.”

 

“It’s nothing. Some of us take to being Nobodies better than others. You’re not the first one to be upset about it. Things are easier to deal with when you don’t have to do it on your own.”

 

That was certainly the truth. But from what he had said, and what Xemnas had told you, it seemed that his behavior was unusual for a Nobody. Whatever the reason was behind his actions, it had caused you to lower the walls of defense you had placed around yourself when he had found you in the street. In so little time, he had managed to worm his way past those walls and you realized that you were indeed beginning to trust him, whether you wanted to or not.

 

As you slowly began to drift off, you couldn’t help but think that the two of you might be able to be friends. It was too soon to know for sure, but the potential was there, just waiting to be explored further. You could feel his warmth beside you, solid and comforting. A smile curved up your lips, and you fell into a deep sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

An hour later, when he was sure that you were asleep, Axel carefully stood up, crossing the room and going out into the hall. He made his way to The Grey Area, stretching out on one of the couches with a yawn. He had just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps behind him; footsteps that were as familiar to him as his own – or at least, they had been, once.

 

“What is it?” he asked, not opening his eyes.

 

Saix came to a stop a short distance away, his molten-gold eyes gazing down at Axel. “Superior has a mission for you first thing tomorrow. You’re to bring our newest member to him, at the place where you found her. He wants to find her ability immediately.”

 

“Hm, not even a single day of recovery. No rest for the weary, huh? All right, message received.”

 

“You needn’t be so dismissive,” Saix said mildly, not coming any closer. “I was curious to know if you thought we had found our Keyblade wielder.”

 

“It’s too soon to say. When I brought it up with her, she didn’t say anything about having a Keyblade. If she did, you’d think it would have shown up when her heart was taken. I mean, what kind of Keyblade wielder loses their heart?” Stretching, he folded his arms behind his head. He didn’t intend to fall asleep in here, but there was no harm in getting comfortable, especially if Saix decided that he was in the rare mood for a conversation.

 

“Superior is anxious for results. It’s been such a long time; at this rate, Kingdom Hearts will never be completed.” What sounded like a sigh drifted to Axel’s ears, and he cracked one eye open as Saix moved around the couch, taking a seat in a nearby chair and crossing one leg over the other.

 

“We’re _all_ anxious for results,” Axel replied, his voice a bit less indifferent than before. The other eye opened, and he looked over at the Organization’s second-in-command. “And we all want our hearts back. It’ll happen, we just have to be patient. We’ve waited this long; a little longer won’t kill us.”

 

There was a long pause from the Luna Diviner, then the faintest chuckle, so quiet Axel thought he might have imagined it. “How can you stay so confident all the time?” he asked. “That’s one thing about you that’s never changed.”

 

Axel wanted to point out that there were lots of things about him that were still the same, but he wasn’t sure if that was true. Neither of them were the same person they had been before they became Nobodies. But instead, he was silent for a long time, trying to find the right words. “Just a gift, I guess,” he answered at last.

 

Abruptly, he sat back up, looking over at Saix. “Even if she _is_ a Keyblade wielder, it’s still going to take us a while to complete Kingdom Hearts. Months…years, maybe. You said yourself that we still have a long way to go, and worrying about when we’re going to find the one who can help us won’t make that happen any faster.”

 

The blue-haired man gazed back at him, his expression unreadable. “I’m well aware of that. But it would still bring us one step closer, and that makes all the difference. Our hearts may once again be within our reach. We can be whole again.”

 

Axel sighed. He had a nasty feeling that their newest member wasn’t the one they were looking for, which meant that Saix was going to end up being disappointed, if he could still experience such a thing. The two of them might have drifted apart over the years, but not to the point that Axel was completely uncaring about the way his former best friend felt. Standing up, he made his way around the couch, past the chair that Saix was sitting in. He raised one arm, his hand hovering over Saix’s shoulder, as if he would give the Luna Diviner a reassuring pat. But at the last moment, he brushed past, heading down the hall in silence.

 

* * *

 

 

When you awoke the next morning, if it _was_ morning, you were alone in the room. You had expected this, though; there was no reason for Axel to remain for long after you had fallen asleep. But it was a new day – so to speak – and it was time to begin the life you had been born into. Standing up, you picked up the uniform you had been given, putting it on. The coat came down to your ankles, and fit you well. It was a bit looser than Axel’s, but was still snug enough that mobility wouldn’t be a problem. The coat opened again mid-thigh, leaving your black-clad legs free to move. The pants themselves were close-fitting, and the gloves were buttery soft. All in all, it was actually more comfortable than you might have first thought.

 

Running your fingers through your hair to smooth it down, you moved over to the door, opening it. On the other side stood Axel, one hand poised to knock. This surprised you into taking a step back. You hadn’t thought to see him again so soon, yet there he was, only a few feet away. Based on the look on his face, you had startled him just as much as he had you. Slowly, he lowered his arm, flashing you a smile as he recovered quickly from the unexpected greeting the two of you had given each other.

 

“Uh, good morning. I didn’t think you would be awake so early.” His gaze flicked down to take in your clothes; it looked like you were starting to take to your new life. Even though you had been provided with the Organization’s uniform, he hadn’t thought you would put it on immediately. Given your hesitation with him when he had found you, it would have been more likely that you would have had to be talked into changing. Then again, he had seen the look on your face when Xemnas had offered you a place in the ranks. There had been no hesitation then. Perhaps becoming a part of the Organization was easier than accepting your life as a Nobody. Being taken into the fold, surrounded by those who were just like you, versus being told by a stranger that you were no longer who you used to be, no longer possessing a heart… It was no surprise which one you had gravitated to more easily. On the other side of that, though, when he had left you sleeping in your room, it had seemed like you were starting to warm up to him a little, and you certainly seemed less wary this morning.

 

You turned to look back over your shoulder at the rectangular window. “How can you tell what’s ‘early’ when there’s no sun?” you asked, the tone of your voice making it difficult to tell if you were joking or not.

 

“Stay here long enough, and you start to get a sense for time, even when the sky’s always dark. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

 

You hoped that was true; ever since you had become a Nobody, your internal clock had been skewed. Maybe it was the perpetually dark sky that did it, but you couldn’t even begin to guess at what time it might be. You would have liked to have an idea of the passing days, even though you weren’t sure time even mattered in a place like this. More importantly, though…

 

“Did…you need something?” Your voice was hesitant; you knew it wasn’t coincidence that he was standing here before you. This wasn’t a social visit.

 

The smile that had been on his face faded at these words. “Actually, yeah. I was given a new mission; I’m supposed to bring you back to the place where I found you. It’s time to find your ability.”

 

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. “Already? I thought there would be more time; a few days, at least.” Xemnas didn’t seem to be wasting any time. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since you had lost your heart and became a Nobody; you still weren’t even sure what it meant to be one.

 

“So did I,” Axel admitted, placing one hand on his hip and running the other over the back of his head. “But he probably figures the sooner we find out what you can do, the better. You won’t be able to go out on missions until you can protect yourself, after all.”

 

“What will this entail, exactly?” you asked, not wanting to go into this completely blind.

 

“I don’t know for sure,” he admitted, looking a bit uncomfortable. “It’s different for everyone. For some of us, our abilities show up without any trouble, but others… It can take a while. You’ll probably be trying a few things, just to see if one sticks.”

 

Well, that was little help. Essentially, you were being asked to step into the unknown again. But on the other hand, Axel had already sent you into the unknown once, and you had come out on the other side unscathed. Now the question was, did you trust him enough to believe that the same thing would happen again? He had been nothing but friendly towards you since you had first met, and you could sense that he probably meant you no harm. _Probably_. But you weren’t sure that you were willing to put that trust to the test, not while it was still so fragile. The problem was, you weren’t sure that you had a choice in the matter. Not this time. You had accepted Xemnas’s offer to join the Organization, which meant that you were bound to obey his orders, regardless of what they were. This was just the first of many.

 

Axel saw the blood drain from your face, and the same wary expression you had worn when he found you in the street crept back in. “Hey,” he said, bringing you out of your thoughts before they could push you any further towards the brink of panic. “Nobodies aren’t exactly common; Xemnas needs all of us to help him complete Kingdom Hearts. And if you _are_ the one we need, what would be the point in hurting you?”

 

He had a point, you supposed. Why would Xemnas offer you a place in the Organization, just to kill you? It made no sense. In all likelihood, you were afraid for nothing.

 

“A fight is the usual way it’s done,” Axel continued, making you look up at him. He hadn’t wanted to tell you this, knowing that it probably wouldn’t make you feel any better about it – and in fact, might even do the opposite – but he could see that _not_ telling you was turning out to be even worse. “It seems like our abilities first show up when we’re under stress, so we’ll have to… Well, it won’t be fun.”

 

Your brow furrowed, and you reached up, placing one hand over your chest. This was odd. “There’s…something I don’t understand. Xemnas – the Superior – said that I didn’t have any emotions left since I lost my heart; that they were only memories that meant nothing. So why can I still feel things? There’s some kind of… _emptiness_ inside me a lot of the time, but just now, what you said made me feel nervous. Am I able to feel things or not?”

 

Axel arched one eyebrow; he hadn’t expected you to ask him something like this. At least, not so soon. Every Nobody noticed it sooner or later, but having the question raised with him was a first. “It’s…both,” he said at last, choosing his words carefully. “You can still feel things, but they’re not _actually_ those emotions – they’re remnants of them.”

 

You frowned. “I don’t understand.”

 

“You remember what it was like to be whole, what it was like to feel those things. Because you recall what it felt like in certain situations, you know what you should be feeling, and those emotions awaken again.” He tapped the side of his head, the shadow of that familiar smile appearing on his face again. “Got it memorized?”

 

“I…think so,” you replied, your voice quiet, thoughtful. “Then, if they’re just remnants, does that mean what I feel isn’t real?”

 

He shrugged. “Your memories are real enough, aren’t they? If they’re real, shouldn’t the feelings connected with them be real, too?”

 

That was certainly something to think about, when you had more time. “Being a Nobody is a lot more complicated than I first thought. Maybe even more complicated than being whole.”

 

“If we’re lucky, maybe you won’t have to worry about that for much longer.” He waved one hand, and a shimmering black and purple portal appeared. “Come on. We can’t keep the Superior waiting.”

 

“Right…” Your eyes fastened on the portal, and you stepped into it. The walls of the Castle faded away, to be replaced by the darkened streets of the city that spread out beneath your new home. Now that you had a moment to look, over the tall buildings that surrounded you, the top of the massive structure could be seen in the distance. The grey stone almost seemed to glow, despite the darkness. It was strangely…beautiful, you had to admit. Beautiful and…familiar? It was faint, but as you stood there, you felt like you had seen the Castle before, from the outside. But that was impossible. You had never been to The City That Never Was before last night.

 

You didn’t have long to ponder this, as your attention was soon drawn to a tall form leaning against the wall nearby. Xemnas stood with his arms crossed, and his eyes closed. They opened when he heard the sound of the portal disappearing, and he looked up at you and Axel as you approached.

 

He straightened, taking a step away from the wall. Even in the dim light, his amber eyes were almost luminous. “I assume that Axel explained everything to you last night?” he asked, glancing from you to the redhead at your side.

 

“I can’t say that I completely understand everything, but he answered all of my questions. The rest is just going to have to come with time and experience, I think,” you replied. “This is all new to me, and I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be asking for it to make more sense.” You had been avoiding looking directly at him since he had stepped closer, but now, your eyes raised until they met his. It was a struggle, holding that cold, amber gaze. “But I know what it is you want from me now.”

 

“Then you understand why we must waste no time in bringing out your ability.” It wasn’t a question.

 

You nodded. “You’re looking for a Keyblade wielder, so we can complete Kingdom Hearts.” Truthfully, you didn’t really think that he needed to hear you say this, but you wanted to give him some kind of confirmation nonetheless, if only to prove that Axel had indeed told you about the Organization and their goals.

 

“Indeed.” He waved one arm at Axel, somewhat taking him off-guard. “With that end in mind, the time has come to find out whether you are the one we need.”

 

Axel’s teal-green eyes widened slightly, looking first at you, then back to Xemnas. “Me? That’s a first. I’ve never been picked to bring out a new member’s ability before.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. On the one hand, he had never been one to turn away from a potential fight, and it had been a while since he’d been able to stretch his legs, so to speak. But on the other, he wasn’t sure he liked the idea of taking on someone who had no way of defending themselves. You had no weapon, and there was no guarantee that you even knew how to fight.

 

He couldn’t disobey a direct order, though. Like it or not, he would have to take his chances. Closing his eyes, he shook his head, his brow furrowing. With a sigh, he turned towards you, backing away a few paces. “All right, then.” He extended both arms, and black and white thorny tendrils wrapped around his hands. Moments later, they transformed into rings of flames, which then faded into his weapons. He gripped them tightly in the center, stopping their rapid spinning and allowing you to get your first good look at them. Completely identical, they were comprised of a single large ring of red metal, more than two feet across, edged in white. Four smaller circles were set into the metal, each one equal distance apart. Around the edge were eight razor-sharp silver spikes. The middle of each weapon bore two white crossed bars, wrapped in black…leather? This was what he now held, rather than touching the outside. Based on the way the metal looked, you had a feeling that the outer rim was just as sharp as the spikes themselves.

 

He gave you a rueful smile. “Don’t hold this against me.” Suddenly, he lunged forward, drawing back one arm and slashing at you. You had never seen this particular weapon before, so you didn’t know exactly how he planned to use them. For now, all you knew was that you couldn’t let them touch you, or they would tear you to ribbons. Nimbly, you leapt back out of the way; he was _fast_ , closing the distance between the two of you almost before you had a chance to react. It was only because you had been waiting for his attack that you had been able to dodge in time. Despite his height, his form was lithe and graceful, giving him a swiftness that you hadn’t expected. You wouldn’t have called yourself slow by any means, but it looked like he was just as fast. That was going to be a problem.

 

“I thought you said we were going to be trying a few things to bring out my ability,” you said, realizing as you spoke that your voice was shaking slightly. You weren’t afraid of Axel, but you _were_ afraid of what he might have to do under Xemnas’s orders. Besides, you barely knew each other, so you had no reason to believe that he would pull his punches to keep from hurting you.

 

“This is the quickest and most efficient method to bring out latent abilities.” This explanation came not from Axel, but from Xemnas, who was standing a short distance away, out of range of the fight. Even though it might have been considered rude to not look at someone when they were speaking, you didn’t dare take your eyes off Axel. You didn’t know if he was the type to attack when his opponent’s back was turned, and it was a risk you couldn’t take.

 

Again, Axel closed the distance between the two of you, and this time when he took another swipe at you, you ducked beneath the blow, spinning into a kick aimed at his stomach. It meant that you had to move into range of his attacks, but with any luck, you would be able to land the kick before he could bring his arm around for another slash.

 

Unfortunately, he was just as fast at dodging as he was at attacking, and he took a single step back; just enough to keep you from connecting. As small as you were, he probably wouldn’t have been knocked down, but you had enough strength that you would have left a nasty bruise, and he’d be left without breath in his lungs.

 

He grinned at you, a spark of that playfulness you had seen before returning. “So you _can_ fight after all.” One kick – and a failed one at that – didn’t prove that you were a master at hand to hand combat, but it _did_ mean that you weren’t helpless. That made him feel a bit better at about this entire thing; he wouldn’t have to hold back quite as much.

 

For a moment he paused, waiting to see if you would make the next move. But you had no intention of going on the offensive; that would have been one of the stupidest things you could have done, under the circumstances. You would fight back if you had to, but you had no intention of attacking him first. Without a weapon, you were completely outmatched, and he might very well kill you if you tried something like that. This was about survival, not victory.

 

Axel realized this quickly, and took a step towards you. In response, you backed up, matching his advance to keep the same amount of distance between you. He paused, his eyes narrowing marginally, and took another experimental step forward, with the same result. He gave a light chuckle. It seemed that you didn’t want to be anywhere near him. But you were running out of room to back up; another couple of steps would bring you up against the wall of the closest building, and then you would have nowhere else to retreat to.

 

A third step, and he saw your eyes cut to the side for just a moment as your back came up against the face of the skyscraper. You could really only move to the left now; Xemnas stood a short distance away in the other direction, and he could tell that you would avoid getting close to the silver-haired leader if you possibly could, probably not trusting him to remain a passive observer. The street opened out into a wider area just beyond the impromptu battlefield, and he guessed that you wanted to have more freedom of movement, which meant that you would most likely make a try for that larger space. The question was, did he want to let you? It would be more difficult to pin you down, but at the same time, it might give you a sense of security that would cause you to lower your guard. It could be worth his while to let you get past him. Not to mention the fact that, just as it would give you more room, it would raise the restrictions on his own movements. His type of fighting was more ideal to large spaces, rather than the confines of a narrow street.

 

Making up his mind, he raised one arm, aiming the circular weapon at your head. Instead of slashing, this time, he simply thrust forward, and two of the silver spikes buried themselves in the stone wall of the building you had pressed yourself against.

 

You ducked beneath the strike, darting under his arm before he could yank the chakram out of the wall. But before you could get out of his range, you felt something catch in the fabric of your coat, and the material tore. Instinctively, you went into a roll, coming up on one knee and glancing back at him. When you’d passed by him, he had brought his other arm across his chest, and one of the blades had sliced into the back of your coat.

 

Your eyes narrowed; he could have easily sank that spike deeply into your spine. The fact that two of them were currently buried in a stone wall was a testament to just how sharp they were, so they would have cut into your skin like a hot knife through butter. That meant either you had been fast enough that he had only managed to catch your coat, or he had deliberately held back so as not to hurt you. You just didn’t know which one, and you weren’t sure you were willing to be wrong about the latter. For your own safety, you had to assume that he had simply missed.

 

As Axel pulled the embedded chakram out of the wall and turned to face you, he felt Xemnas step up behind him. When the Superior spoke, it was so quiet that the redhead could barely hear him. “You must make her fear for her life,” he instructed. “Her ability will never manifest unless she believes that she is about to be killed.”

 

He knew that Axel wouldn’t like this; he had never been one to enjoy striking fear into his opponents, and since the Flurry of Dancing Flames had been the one to find you on this very street, it was possible that he felt some sense of responsibility for you. It might be difficult for him to convince you that he intended to end your new life. But it was necessary, if this was to work.

 

As was expected, Axel frowned, and his hands tightened on his weapons. He was the wrong Nobody for this job. Saix would have been better suited, or perhaps Xaldin. Neither of them ever felt any reservations during their missions, and would have been able to do exactly as Xemnas asked without a second thought.

 

But to him, you were a comrade now, perhaps even the beginnings of a friend. He didn’t like the idea of frightening you like this, even if it was for the good of the Organization. In this, he wasn’t sure that the end justified the means. But what other choice did he have?

 

He turned his head away from you for several seconds, closing his eyes. When they opened again, the blue-green orbs were hard. He stepped away from Xemnas, slowly raising his arms. As he did, a large ring of flames rose up out of the ground around the two of you, effectively trapping you inside. You could feel their intense heat, and moved away, towards the center of the makeshift arena, and towards Axel himself.

 

That last attack seemed to have signified the end of his halfhearted attempts to wound you; that much was clear from the look in his eyes. Adrenaline began to flow through your blood, causing your breathing to come faster. There would be no escape this time. That fire was real, and it was thick enough that you wouldn’t be able to get through it.

 

You saw his hands tighten on his weapons, and suddenly, almost too fast for you to see, he threw them at you, one after the other. They spun towards you with deadly accuracy, and you jumped out of the way as they sailed over your head, the spikes causing them to sing as they cut through the air. When you looked back at Axel, you saw that he had vanished, and turned just in time to see him lunge at you from behind, his chakrams once more in hand. How had he gotten there?! This time, you weren’t fast enough to dodge, and the tip of one blade caught just below your right ribcage, piercing through your coat a second time and slicing open a shallow channel in your skin.

 

Crying out more from surprise than pain, you spun around, reaching back to feel the extent of the damage. The wound wasn’t severe; it was little more than a scratch, so it wouldn’t slow you down. But you couldn’t take your eyes off of him this time; he had suddenly appeared behind you with no warning, and you wanted to find out exactly how he had done that. If he caught you by surprise again, there might not be a third time. It was only because you had already begun to turn around that the wound he had given you had turned out to be so shallow. If it had fully connected, it might have damaged the tendons and muscle, preventing you from moving the way you needed to.

 

Bracing himself, Axel hurled his weapons at you once more, but this time, he changed the pattern of attack. One went high, while the other was aimed in a more downward trajectory. You wouldn’t be able to duck beneath them this time. That left three options. Left, right, or…

 

 _Forward_. You flipped through the open space between them, your feet leaving the ground a couple of seconds before you would have been struck. Catching yourself on your hands, you kicked out at him again, using your momentum to put more weight behind the blow. But yet again, you didn’t connect, for a different reason this time. Axel summoned one of the shadowy portals that he had used before, backing into it and vanishing.

 

As you completed the flip, you saw him reappear across the circle, just in time to catch his weapons and turn back towards you. So _that_ was how he had done it. There was no way for them to come back to him on their own, so he’d had to devise another way to get them back, or be left unarmed. This method of transportation was still new to you, and you’d had no idea that they could be utilized in battle. This was very interesting…but it also meant that you were in trouble. No matter where you went within the ring of flames, Axel would be able to catch you if he used those portals, even if you tried to keep your distance from him. Your only hint would be the unique sound they made as they opened and closed, but you didn’t know if that would be enough to allow you to stay ahead of him.

 

You were beginning to run out of options, and it made a trickle of desperation run through you. The only thing you could do was keep moving, and hope that he tired himself out before you did.

 

Which didn’t seem likely, as he struck out for the third time, more viciously than before. This time, he didn’t even wait for you to attempt to dodge before he had vanished from sight. You braced yourself to jump out of the way when he suddenly reappeared directly in front of you. It had been a feint; he didn’t intend to let the weapons hit you this time. He had done it expecting you to turn or dodge, and take your eyes away from the front, where he was now standing. Before you even knew what was happening, your legs had been swept out from under you, and your breath left your lungs in a harsh exhale as you hit the ground hard. You managed to keep your head from hitting the asphalt, and you saw Axel catch the chakrams, moving to stand over you.

 

In one smooth move, knelt down, burying one of the chakrams in the ground at your side, close enough that the spikes caught on the material of your coat, pinning it down so you wouldn’t be able to roll out of the way. You probably could have ripped the fabric free, but with the way Axel was positioned, you knew that you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.

 

True fear rose up within you as you saw him draw the other weapon up over his shoulder, preparing to bring it down onto you. Was this really it…? You had only just been reborn, and now you were going to die here, in the very place where you had awoken? As frantically as you thought, you saw no way out of this predicament, but you weren’t ready to resign yourself to death just yet.

 

Axel braced himself, swinging his arm downward. You inhaled, closing your eyes tightly. For just an instant, you thought you felt something in your hand. It was pliant, your fingers slowly moving through it like glue. Whatever it was, it had yet to fully take shape. You attempted to grab it, but it was gone, leaving your hand empty once more as what you were sure was your death descended upon you.

 

There was a loud ringing in your ear, and a sharp pain cut across your left cheek. Then it was over. Slowly, your eyes opened, and you saw Axel still kneeling over you. His head was turned away, and his shoulders were hunched. Beside you, buried in the ground like its twin, was the chakram you had been so sure that he was going to sink into your chest. A droplet of ruby blood glittered on the tip of one of the spikes, where it had scratched you. But apart from that, you were unharmed. Terrified, and a bit confused, but safe.

 

Tremors still wracked your frame as you looked up at him, your brow furrowing. You could feel blood dripping down your cheek, but you made no move to wipe it away, not knowing whether he might change his mind and finish what he had started. “A-Axel…?”

 

Slowly, your opponent straightened, yanking his weapons out of the ground and looking over at Xemnas, rather than you. As he did, the walls of fire died away, leaving the street darker than ever. “It didn’t work,” he commented. The chakrams vanished in another swirl of flames, and he moved back, putting distance between the two of you.

 

It hadn’t worked? What was that supposed to… Then, it dawned on you. It had been a ploy. He hadn’t missed by accident. He never intended to kill you in the first place. He had most likely tried to frighten you into thinking that he would, without ever actually going through with it. Of course, the same protection didn’t extend to wounds, as you had clearly seen. But maybe… Maybe he really had pulled his attacks enough that you wouldn’t be seriously hurt.

 

You sat up, looking over at the Superior, unsure of what would happen next. The fight with Axel was over; that much was clear. But that didn’t mean you were safe. With any luck, you would be able to try one of the other methods the redhead had mentioned to you.

 

“Very well, then. We shall try a different course.” As Xemnas stepped forward, you felt your chest tighten. The hard look in his eyes was one you had seen in Axel’s just a few minutes ago. The fight was going to continue, just with a different opponent – one who didn’t seem to care what became of you.

 

Before he could come any closer, you scrambled to your feet, watching him warily. Not knowing what kind of ability he might have meant that you had no idea what was about to happen. At least with Axel, he had displayed his weapons for a moment, giving you the chance to prepare yourself for his attacks. But as far as you could tell, Xemnas was unarmed.

 

Suddenly, his form flickered, and he vanished. There was no portal this time; it was as if he had simply been wiped from existence. Your eyes widened, and you looked around, feeling nervousness sink its claws into you. If it was frightening to watch him inexorably advancing on you, it was even worse not knowing where he was.

 

You didn’t even have time to turn around. Without warning, something heavy struck you across the back, sending you sprawling onto your stomach. It was over before you’d even had a chance to cry out. A sensation like fire erupted where you had been hit, leaving you a bit dazed. By force of will, you drew your arms beneath you, pushing yourself up onto your hands and knees, then upright. You looked back over your shoulder to see Xemnas standing where you had been, regarding you calmly. In his hand, he held what looked like a slender beam of light, which glowed a radiant crimson.

 

Your eyes fixed on this unusual weapon; you had never seen anything like it, and it struck you as oddly beautiful. But you had only a moment to take it in, as your attention immediately went back to Xemnas when he took a step forward.

 

“To bring out your abilities, you must be desperate,” he told you. “If you still have strength in you, they will never manifest. Defend yourself!” With that, he rapidly closed the distance between you, bringing his arm up in a sweeping arc meant to knock you back again. His surprisingly graceful movements were fast, even more than Axel’s had been.

 

Adrenaline flowed through your body, blocking out some of the pain from his first strike and lending you speed that you didn’t have before. It was only because of this that you managed to get to your feet and lean back far enough to evade the blow. But Xemnas didn’t give you the chance to recover, spinning around and slashing at you again, diagonally this time.

 

You stepped back, and for a moment, you thought you had brought yourself out of range. That notion was shattered as the beam of light struck your shoulder hard, causing your legs to buckle beneath you. Your entire arm went numb, leaving your fingertips tingling. A cry of pain made its way past your clenched teeth as you brought your other hand up to grip your shoulder. It didn’t feel like your collarbone had been broken, thankfully, but you could barely move your fingers, let alone the rest of your arm. This was exactly what you had been worried about when you had been fighting Axel; now that you were getting worn out, it was getting more and more difficult to dodge.

 

Xemnas was relentless, even though you had been brought to your knees. He was nothing like how Axel had been; there was no time to recover, no time to breathe between attacks, to analyze them, and prepare yourself to dodge. Already, he was swinging the beam of light down at you again, intending to force you completely to the ground.

 

Gathering your waning strength, you rolled out of the way, using your momentum to bring you back up onto your feet. This put you out of range for the moment, but you didn’t allow yourself to relax, knowing that he could close the distance in a fraction of a second, and you would be down again.

 

This time, however, he did no such thing. Instead, he swept his arm in a horizontal arc, and a line of bright red lights appeared, each no more than a few inches long. They hovered in midair just long enough for the final one to form before they sped towards you, each one seeming to pinpoint your location, rather than following a straight line, as you might have expected.

 

You leapt back and to the side, and they flew through the air where you had been standing just a moment ago before striking the ground, disappearing as if they had never been. It looked like they were blunt, which meant that they probably wouldn’t pierce through you, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. Each one would have left a sizeable bruise, and might have broken bones, had they connected. You were already wounded; you couldn’t afford to let yourself be struck by them.

 

Movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention, and you saw Xemnas lunging towards you. He had taken the time to close some of the distance that had appeared between you, and was now drawing his arm back for a horizontal strike.

 

Instead of attempting to move back again, this time, you ducked beneath the blow, sliding around his side before he could bring his arm back around. This put you between him and the street where your fight with Axel had begun. It was off to your left, partially hidden by the wall of one of the buildings. If you could get back onto that street, the wall might protect you for a few moments, giving you enough time to recover some of your strength.

 

You flexed your fingers experimentally. The movement sent splinters of pain racing up your arm, but feeling was beginning to return, even if the limb remained somewhat stiff.  Slowly, you took a step back, watching him warily. Turning your back on him would be a deadly mistake; you would have to do this without taking your eyes off him, somehow.

 

The moment that you moved, so did he. This time, he raised his other arm, and an identical beam of light appeared in his hand. 

 

 _Two?!_ It had been difficult enough just keeping away from one of them! You were already beginning to move as he brought the swords down in a cross-slash, and you felt your hair ruffle as they passed just in front of you. That was too close…

 

As you leapt back, bringing you closer to the street you had previously vacated, you saw Xemnas go still, his arms lowering to his sides. His liquid amber eyes pierced into you, sending a chill up your spine. “You are weakening. If you aren’t able to call upon your abilities soon, you will be killed.”

 

There was no doubt in your mind of the validity of his words. He would have no reservations about slaughtering you himself, if you weren’t able to manifest this ability of yours. He’d said that you needed to be desperate, and you had long since passed that point. Still, you remained empty-handed. Whatever had appeared while you were fighting Axel, it didn’t seem like it was willing to come back. Had that been your once chance, and now, having been unable to make it materialize, it had abandoned you?

 

Xemnas’s form was suddenly surrounded by those glowing points of light that he had summoned before, only this time, their numbers had tripled. You weren’t sure if you would be able to dodge them this time. But you still had to try!

 

Gathering up the last of your strength, you made one final attempt, turning and leaping towards the safety of the side street. But you never made it. One after another, the small, bullet-like objects slammed into you, sending you to the ground in a haze of searing pain. Your vision darkened, and you had to fight to retain consciousness. You weren’t sure how many times you had been struck; a dozen, maybe? Trying to bring your arms beneath you, you struggled to push yourself up, only to fall back to the ground.

 

Dimly, you heard footsteps approaching, and you turned your head enough to see Xemnas standing over you, his expression emotionless. In what seemed like slow motion, you watched as he raised his arms, exactly as Axel had done. But this time, you knew that there would be no moment of reprieve. This attack wouldn’t miss. Your new life, as short as it had been, was over.

 

 _No,_ you thought, _I can’t… I don’t want to die!_ **_I won’t die!_ **

 

Where you found the strength to pull yourself up, you would never know. Bringing your arms up over your body, you felt something appear in your hand again. This time, it was solid. Instinctively, you struck out with it. There was a sharp _crack_ , and the rustle of fabric as Xemnas leapt backwards.

 

You looked down to see a sinuous black whip curled in front of you, easily twice as long as you were tall. Its surface seemed to be writhing, and tiny particles rose from it, vanishing into thin air. Like when you had seen the Castle from the outside, a wave of déjà vu washed over you. It looked so familiar… But you were sure that you would have remembered if you’d used something like this before.

 

Raising your head, you turned your attention to Xemnas. He stood a short distance away, and the red blades of light he’d held were gone. Instead, he was examining his right arm; specifically, the bottom of his sleeve. It was torn, and the edges seemed to be flaking away before your very eyes. He ran his fingers over the tear, ripping away a tiny piece of the material. It crumbled to nothing in his hand, and he frowned thoughtfully.

 

This was interesting… At first, he thought the surface of the whip was coated in some kind of acid, but that wasn’t quite right. The fabric hadn’t been burned away; there was no bubbling or smoke that would have accompanied the material being destroyed. In fact, it looked almost like it had rotted, all in the span of a few seconds.

 

“It seems that you have the power of disintegration,” he mused, almost to himself. His eyes traced over the whip, and you could have sworn you saw a flicker of some emotion cross his face. It was gone in a split-second, too fast for you to get an accurate read on what it had been. Disappointment, perhaps? The entire Organization was hoping for a Keyblade wielder, but your weapon had turned out to be a whip. You had to admit, you felt a bit disappointed, yourself. It looked like you wouldn’t be regaining your lost heart any time soon. Still, the appearance of the whip had saved your life, and you were overwhelmingly grateful for that. Not to mention the fact that it seemed to have quite a strong ability that came with it. Even if it wasn’t a Keyblade, it was still _yours_ , and you intended to learn everything you could about how to use it.

 

It seemed that Xemnas agreed with you, for his next words made a wave of relief wash over you. “Although it was not the ability that we have been searching for, it will still be useful in its own right. Master it, and become an asset to the Organization.”

 

Slowly, you nodded. “I will.” Movement drew your attention back down, and you saw the same black and white thorny tendrils that signaled the activation of Axel’s own ability twine around your fingers. The whip faded from existence, as if it had never been.

 

Xemnas turned, opening a portal. “You are dismissed. Return to the Castle and rest; you will be given your first mission soon.” With that, he stepped into the swirling abyss and was gone, leaving you and Axel alone in the middle of the street.

 

You gave a heavy sigh as exhaustion began to set in. Though you had been sitting upright, now you fell back, bringing one arm up to cover your eyes. The adrenaline flowing through your blood was starting to recede, leaving  you utterly drained. It felt like you had been fighting for hours, even though it couldn’t have been more than thirty minutes. Your entire body felt like one giant bruise; it hurt even to breathe.

 

The sound of footsteps approached, and you raised your arm to see Axel standing over you. He gave you a grin. “I didn’t know if you were going to be able to survive that.”

 

For a while, you simply watched him silently, not moving. As the seconds passed, you saw his grin slip faintly, and an edge of hesitance creep in. Were you angry at him for attacking you? It was true that he could have held back more, and he probably would have been able to get away with not wounding you at all. But he’d needed to make it look real, or it wouldn’t have worked. Then again, Xemnas had had to step in anyway; Axel’s attempt hadn’t been enough.

 

At last, you returned his smile, though yours was smaller. “I didn’t, either,” you admitted. Slowly, you reached out to him. “Would you mind helping me up? I’m not sure I can manage it on my own.” You could feel yourself trembling from the exertions of the fight, and you didn’t know if your legs would support you without help.

 

“Seems like the least I can do after all that, huh?” He took your hand in his own, helping to pull you to your feet. You gave a groan as you straightened, and paused for a moment to make sure that you weren’t going to end up on the ground again. When you were sure that you could stand on your own, you took a step back, turning to look at him.

 

“Sorry about the, uh…” He touched his own cheek with one finger, indicating where one of the spikes of his chakrams had scratched you.

 

You reached up, wiping away the drying trickle of blood with the back of one gloved hand. “It’s nothing. You did what you had to do, and unfortunately for me, that meant I was going to come out of it a little worse for wear. I can’t say that I’m happy about that, but… Well, I found my ability. Given how things could have turned out, a scratch is about the best I could have hoped for, don’t you think?” It was funny; now that you knew you did indeed have your own weapon, even though it wasn’t a Keyblade, everything that had led up to its manifestation seemed insignificant in comparison. You were alive; that was the most important thing.

 

He shrugged. “I’m usually not in the habit of attacking my fellow Organization members. But when you’re given an order, you follow it; even if it means making yourself the enemy.” In fact, that might have been why Xemnas thought to use Axel to try and do this, rather than simply taking care of it himself. If someone was attacked by a person they viewed as a friend, it would usually have more of an impact. Unfortunately, not enough time had passed for you and the Flurry of Dancing Flames to have formed a real friendship yet, forcing him to intervene.

 

“I’ll remember that,” you said quietly, not sure you liked the way that sounded. You looked down at your hand, flexing your fingers. Abruptly, you changed the subject. “Axel, have you…ever had a feeling that you’ve seen something before, even though you have no memory of it?”

 

He tilted his head slightly to the side as you glanced up at him. “What do you mean?”

 

“When that whip appeared, I had the strangest feeling that I had seen it somewhere before. But I know that I didn’t have any kind of a weapon like that before I became a Nobody,” you explained, knowing that you might not have been making any sense. “The feeling was so strong… And that wasn’t the first time, either.” You turned and pointed to The Castle That Never Was, its uppermost towers shining in the distance. “When we first got here, I had that same feeling about the Castle.”

 

This made him frown thoughtfully. “Everyone feels that way sometimes, don’t they? You might not be remembering one specific thing, but just something that reminded you of it, and that made it seem familiar. Memories are strange things. They can play tricks on you sometimes.”

 

Slowly, you nodded, though you weren’t sure if you quite believed this explanation. It was true enough, to be sure; you just didn’t know if it applied to this particular situation. Your memory wasn’t infallible; like everyone else, there were gaps left behind from pieces of your life that never made enough of an impression to be fully remembered. That had been the case even when you were whole, and you were sure that the shock of losing your heart had jarred loose a few more. But nothing could account for the feeling of familiarity that you had felt.

 

If it had been just a one-off thing, you could have overlooked it as an odd occurrence and moved on. Having it happen twice in such a short span of time, however, made you think that there was something more to it. You couldn’t help but wonder if it was just something that happened to Nobodies, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

 

You shook your head, deciding to put it out of your mind for now. Distantly, you heard Axel open a portal, and you turned your attention to him. “You have to teach me how to do that, so I won’t have to wait for you to do it every time.”

 

“Sure. It’s not that hard to learn. But I think that can wait for now; you look like you’re ready to collapse.”

 

You gave a small smile. “I’ll hold you to that, then.” Body aching, you made your way into the portal, and back to your new home.

 


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, this turned out to be longer than I intended... Hehe... Oops.

The days flew by, and before you knew it, you had been a member of the Organization for four months. It hadn’t taken you long to fall into a now-familiar routine of missions and downtime, familiarizing yourself with the multitude of worlds that lay beyond The City That Never Was. Sometimes, your assignments were easy enough that you were allowed to take your time, and enjoy what the various worlds had to offer.

 

You had also been given your new title. A week after you had manifested your weapon, Xemnas had summoned you to the room known as Where Nothing Gathers, the meeting room of the Organization, and the place where Axel had introduced you to the Superior. Because of your weapon’s ability – the whip you had come to know as Fading Corrosion – he titled you the Manipulator of Dissolution. It was a name you now wore proudly, as was the one you had been given the night you were reborn as a Nobody. It hadn’t been easy at first; having no heart was a difficult burden to bear, but as time passed, you became used to it, even if you never could shake the feeling that a piece of you was missing.

 

Your only real problems came from your mission partners. Some of the other members of the Organization were quite difficult to like; Vexen, with his strict adherence to the mission parameters, was one you constantly butted heads with. He never let you have any fun when you were sent out with him. Larxene was another you didn’t get along with. Even though she was the only other female member, her acidic tongue and disdain for almost everything made you prefer to avoid her when you had the option.

 

Strangely, though, those were the only two you didn’t much like. A majority of them kept mostly to themselves, such as Zexion, and the quiet giant Lexaeus; you hardly knew anything about them, other than the fact that they seemed to be friends of a sort. When you were sent out with them on missions, they said little to you, choosing to perform the assignments without much conversation. Another mystery was The Whirlwind Lancer, Xaldin. Although more vocal than the other two, he was still difficult to figure out. A few times, you had seen him fight; despite his large frame, he was quite adept, and these abilities had earned him the rank of second strongest, surpassed only by Xemnas himself. Truthfully, you were fascinated by those lances of his; they were beautiful when in motion, even though you didn’t quite know what to think about their wielder. You found out that he had no patience with ineptitude, and when you first began going on missions with him, he had snapped at you more than once, until you had gotten more familiar with your tasks. Because of this, you made it a point to learn as quickly as you could, so as to avoid more severe shows of temper from the black-haired man. Thankfully, you had a rather sharp learning curve. Finally, there was Marluxia. You had seen him only a handful of times, and always from a distance, to the point where he was more or less a nonentity to you. Wherever he preferred to stay, you were sure it wasn’t in The Castle That Never Was. Something you would never admit to anyone else was that, when you had first caught a glimpse of the rose-haired man, you’d actually thought he was female. It wasn’t until you heard him speaking with one of the others one day, and heard his soft – but definitely masculine – voice, that you realized that your assumption had been wrong, much to your embarrassment.

 

This wasn’t all you had learned. Within a few days, you had observed that the supposed hierarchy among you and the others was almost nonexistent, with one exception; the amber-eyed man Saix seemed to be Xemnas’ second-in-command, despite being seventh in rank. When Xemnas wasn’t around – which was quite often – the others seemed to take their orders from Saix, instead. Saix was another you knew very little about, though you didn’t much care to change this. He was perpetually calm, almost to a frightening degree, and you went out of your way to avoid him whenever you possibly could. Like with Xemnas, it just reinforced what Axel had told you about Nobodies not having hearts. While they were supposed to have been able to remember what it felt like to have emotions, Saix either had no memory of them, or he had killed them off; you weren’t sure which.

 

It wasn’t all bad, though. You had managed to make some friends, if that was the correct word. Out of everyone, there were three that you had taken to almost immediately.

 

Demyx, with his carefree attitude, had ingrained himself into your affections as a sort of little brother figure. He was next to useless on missions, usually letting you do most of the work while he slid by on the barest amount of effort he could possibly manage, but his cheerful demeanor brightened up the Castle; something that was sorely needed in a place that never saw sunlight. You were always patient with him, gently urging him to take larger parts in assignments you were sent on together, even though he had yet to listen to you.

 

Luxord was the most intelligent out of the three, often impressing you with his wider than average vocabulary, and his ability to be quite poetic at times. One thing was sure, though; he was certainly the smoothest talker. His silver tongue usually had you being convinced into playing one of his games whenever you had free time. Of course, you always lost, but despite this, soon enough you were back at it again, even knowing that your chances of victory were slim to none. He was easy enough to get along with on missions, and you never lacked for conversation when you were with him. You quickly came to look forward to the assignments that had you partnered with him.

 

Finally, there was Xigbar. Perhaps the most vocal of everyone, he also seemed to be the friendliest towards the others, even if he had a tendency to be disrespectful at times. He was quite arrogant, but you noticed that he was very careful not to overstep his bounds, especially around Saix. You had never seen him lose his temper, and even in battle, he was always playful. In fact, you weren’t convinced that he even _could_ get angry. Even though his attitude often made you wary when he was around the more temperamental members, in case they decided to lose patience with him, he had still managed to make you laugh on more than one occasion, and because of this feat – something only two other members had been able to do – you tended to fall on the side of liking him despite, or maybe because of, his flippant demeanor. Still, even in light of all of this, you couldn’t help but notice that, in the times when he wasn’t speaking, he had a tendency to watch everyone, you included. Your time on  missions with Vexen had allowed you to recognize what this look meant; he was studying them, collecting who knew what kind of information. Even though he was someone ruled more by instinct than intelligence, he was far from stupid. His single yellow eye betrayed the cleverness lurking under his laid-back exterior.

 

But there was one member in particular you had grown increasingly fond of as the days passed. Axel had been the first Nobody you had befriended after losing your own heart, and perhaps because of this, your favorite times were when the two of you could spend time together, whether it was on missions, or in your downtime. Ever since that first day when you had asked him to stay with you for a while, you had looked forward to seeing him again whenever you could. Even though you had been forced to fight him to bring out your ability, it hadn’t broken the beginnings of the bond that had since bloomed between you.

 

However, something had subtly changed; now, whenever you saw him, you would feel a strange flutter in your chest, exactly as if your nonexistent heart had sped up, and a pleasant warmth would spread through your body, leaving you tingling. You knew that it was impossible for you to have feelings for the redhead, but despite this, there was still… _something_.

 

Almost four months to the day since you became a Nobody, you entered The Grey Area to find both Axel and Saix waiting for you. Walking over to them, you arched one eyebrow questioningly, though you had a feeling that you already knew what was coming. The only reason they would have gathered like this was for a mission.

 

Sure enough, Saix confirmed this. “The Superior has decided that it’s time to find out what you are truly capable of,” he explained in his smooth, quiet voice.

 

You frowned. “What do you mean? Haven’t I already proven myself?” Determined to make up for the fact that you were not the Keyblade wielder Xemnas had wanted, you had thrown yourself into your missions with a single-minded intensity, and because of this, you had an impeccable record; every assignment had been a success.

 

“Every one of us must strive to better ourselves-” Saix began, only to be interrupted by Axel. Oddly, the blue-haired man didn’t seem to mind this; he fell silent, looking over at the Flurry of Dancing Flames with an expression of indifference on his handsome face.

 

“What he means is that there’s still more potential that you haven’t yet brought out. Our abilities have what we call a ‘limit’, that lets us access their true power, and he wants you to unlock yours.”

 

“I already know that. I’ve been trying, but…” You hadn’t made any progress in over a month, and it looked like Xemnas was beginning to lose patience.

 

“It seems that you must be given a bit more incentive for your limit to be fully realized,” Saix continued, and this time, Axel remained quiet.

 

This made you sigh, and you closed your eyes. “Again…?” You had barely survived the first time. Even though you now had a means to defend yourself – and to go on the offensive, which you preferred – you knew that this was _not_ going to be either easy or fun. When it came to strengthening yourself, the missions were always difficult, and usually ended painfully. “Who will I be fighting this time?” you asked in resignation; there was no use protesting. One way or another, this was going to happen. Might as well submit without complaint.

 

“You will be going somewhere new for this. Such a test cannot be undergone with your usual opponents. Our weapon limits are deadly, and we can’t risk anyone being harmed by them. You need something that’s powerful, but can be disposed of.”

 

This made you look up at the Luna Diviner. A new world? That hadn’t happened in a while, and it piqued your curiosity.

 

“We’re going to the Realm of Darkness,” Axel supplied the answer to your unasked question.

 

Your blood ran cold. “The Realm…of Darkness?” you repeated, your eagerness to see a new world suddenly draining away. Though you had never seen it for yourself, you had learned about it in the months since you had become a Nobody. As the name suggested, it was a place engulfed in perpetual darkness; the home world of the pureblood Heartless. But you wouldn’t be facing simply little Shadows, you knew. The depths of the Realm of Darkness were home to the most powerful of the creatures, the ones that never left the confines of the sinister place, except on the rarest of occasions. They were what now awaited you.

 

“Don’t worry. We’re not sending you there alone. I’ll be going along with you as backup. Even a Nobody would have trouble there by themselves.”

 

Axel’s words and cheerful grin did little to reassure you. You had never seen that place for yourself, nor had you ever wanted to. But it looked like you weren’t going to be given any choice in the matter. The Superior’s word was law, and you couldn’t go against it.

 

Swallowing hard, you raised your head, trying to look more confident than you felt. “Well…let’s get this over with, then, huh?”

 

The redhead waved one arm, and a portal appeared before you, which he stepped into. Your stomach twisting itself into knots, you followed him into the swirling tendrils.

 

The sight that greeted you was one that you weren’t prepared for. The sky overhead roiled with poisonous-looking clouds of red and purple, and you were standing on what looked like glowing sand that shimmered through a myriad of colors: silver, lavender, sky blue… It was impossible to identify them all. In the distance, you could see the occasional misshapen pillar of what looked like black rock, shot through with bright veins of...light? All around you, a heavy sense of emptiness pressed down on you, and the entire place was utterly silent, save for the crunch of sand beneath your feet. Leading away from you were several paths, each one leading to parts unknown.

 

“I don’t like this place,” you muttered, summoning Fading Corrosion to your hand, even though the two of you seemed to be alone. Instinctively, you moved closer to Axel, seeking his familiar presence.

 

There was a burst of flames beside you; Axel had called forth his own weapons. It looked like you weren’t the only one who was uneasy, though he hid it better than you did. “We’ll be out of here in no time,” he replied airily. “This place should be crawling with Heartless, so it shouldn’t take long for you to activate your limit.”

 

You hoped he was right; the less time you spent here, the better. “Which way do we go?” you asked, looking at the pathways before you. They all looked the same, as far as you could tell.

 

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, does it? All roads lead to the same destination. Isn’t that how that saying goes?”

 

This made you glance over at him, and you saw that he was grinning at you. It dawned on you that he was trying to put you more at ease. You appreciated the thought, even if his attempt wasn’t working. Still, you returned his smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. No matter which path we take, they all lead to Heartless.”

 

Your hand tightened on the coiled whip, and you turned to the right, heading down the closest road, if the narrow strip of sand could even be called that. As you walked, you became aware of the sensation of being watched, though whenever you looked around, there was nothing to be seen. “Do you feel that?” you asked, the back of your neck prickling unpleasantly.

 

“Yeah. Something’s here.”

 

In front of you, the pathway opened up into a broad expanse of land, ringed around the edges with what looked like spires of black thorns. In the middle of it was what you recognized as a portal similar to the Corridors that you and the other Organization members used to move around, only this one belonged to the Heartless.

 

You came to a stop, gazing at the flickering portal. “I don’t suppose we can turn back, can we?” Your voice held the same joking tone his had a few minutes ago – was it a few minutes? It was impossible to recall; it could have been hours ago now. You were losing track of time. Was that another quirk of the Realm of Darkness?

 

“Not scared, are you?” he teased, though his eyes were also watching the dancing tendrils warily. He was braced for battle, you saw, ready to throw his chakrams, should the Heartless decide to make an appearance.

 

In response, you let Fading Corrosion unwind, its length pooling at your feet. As it did so, you activated its ability; the surface began to writhe, and minute particles rose from it, disappearing into the air. “Not even close,” you replied flippantly, stepping forward. Despite your words, you were cautious, not knowing what to expect.

 

As you approached it, the portal seemed to boil, and in wisps of smoke, Shadows began to leap out of it. Both you and Axel sprang into action. The whip you held divided into three sections, then six, and finally nine, each one twisting with a mind of its own. You struck out, the tendrils smashing into the nearest Heartless and gouging out strips of its black flesh. The edges of the furrows began to flake away, but it wasn’t enough to bring the creature down.

 

You clenched your teeth; in their own world, even the Shadows were more powerful than they were elsewhere. This would have to be done carefully.

 

A group of the little Heartless approached, and you leapt back as the nearest one took a swipe at you. Two of them melted into the ground, crawling rapidly towards you, faster than they could have managed on two legs. There was nothing you could do about them until they surfaced; you would just have to keep an eye on them, and focus on the ones that were still advancing.

 

Fading Corrosion cracked through the air over and over again, and finally, the Heartless began to fall. As the first wave was cleared away, you spared a glance at Axel, whom you could see on the other side of the portal. His chakrams sang through the air, accompanied by the occasional burst of flame. He was holding his own, you saw; not that you had expected any different.

 

But you had little time to watch him, as the second wave of dark creatures manifested. These were bigger, faster, more sinister…

 

Neo Shadows.

 

Something tugged at the back of your mind, and your brow furrowed. _Falling…A searing heat, something shattering within you._ Sharply, you shook your head, trying to erase that image. You couldn’t afford any distractions. If the Shadows had been difficult, these things were deadly; it would take all of your skill to bring them down before they could hurt you.

 

The Neo Shadows seemed to have more intelligence than their smaller brethren; instead of clustering together, they fanned out, attempting to surround you. But you were having none of it; you whirled the whip above your head, and concentrated. With enough focus, you had found that you could make the tendrils divide further, and elongate to twice their normal length. So far, you had managed to separate them into five hundred and seventy-six sections, but that was pushing it to its absolute brink. It had taken you three months to bring out its potential that far, but you had stalled out there, unable to force it farther. Even then, that much of an effort absolutely exhausted you, so it might have been a good thing that it had stopped there. If you had poured any more of your strength into it, your very life force might have been sapped away.

 

But you knew things would be different this time. Either you would leave here with your weapon’s limit unlocked, or you would fade, your life expended.

 

Fading Corrosion sang through the air, and two hundred and eighty-eight needle-sharp tendrils bit into the black bodies crowding around you. Three of them crumpled to the ground, but the others kept advancing, the lashes that had opened up in their flesh flaking away. Still, they continued forward.

 

Left with no other option, you utilized a trick you had learned from Axel; you let a Corridor of Darkness swallow you up, and it deposited you on the outside of the ring they had formed around you, allowing you another chance to attack before they could gather their bearings. The creatures moved too quickly for you to have gotten away from them through normal means, but this gave you a momentary advantage, and you were able to destroy them.

 

Automatically, you were already turning to face the portal, but even as you did this, you saw that it was rapidly vanishing. As it faded, Axel appeared at your side, looking around suspiciously.

 

“That’s it? That was too easy…”

 

You had to agree; something wasn’t right. You had expected to fight at least as hard as you had against Xemnas, though that hadn’t really been a proper _fight_ , per se. Still, you had thought there would be more. “I think we should keep moving,” you said quietly, unsure of why you were whispering. There was no one around to hear you except Axel.

 

And yet…

 

And yet there was still _something_ , a malevolent presence that seemed to lurk just out of your sight, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce and devour you. Involuntarily, you shivered. This place was starting to play tricks on your mind, and you didn’t like it at all. Your sense of time had been lost, and now it was starting to chip away at your self-preservation instincts, making you paranoid.

 

Out of the corner of your eye, you thought you saw something move, and as you turned your head, you caught a glimpse of a pair of crimson eyes barreling towards you. There was barely time for you to throw yourself out of the way before it had blown past you, and was gone again before you could even see what it was. Whatever it had been, it was _big_ ; bigger than any Heartless you had ever faced before.

 

“What was _that_?!” Axel exclaimed; he was standing a short distance away, his chakrams held ready at his sides, though there was nothing there for him to throw them at.

 

“I…I don’t know,” you admitted shakily, pulling yourself to your feet. “I didn’t get a good look at it.” Moving over to your companion, you turned around, putting your back up against his broader one. This way, whatever it had been wouldn’t be able to sneak up on you again, though how something that large could move so stealthily in the first place was beyond you. There didn’t seem to be any set-in-stone rules when it came to Heartless, you had learned, and this thing was no exception. It did things that it shouldn’t have been able to do, which meant that you had to be prepared for anything.

 

For several long minutes – or had it been an hour? – all was silent and still. You were just about to suggest that you take the opportunity to leave when Axel suddenly stiffened against you. Peering around him, you saw why; the creature had made an appearance again…kind of. It stood on the edge of the island, but you were having trouble focusing on its form. It seemed to have cloaked itself in swirling darkness, making it hard to see. It was as if the wind had taken on the vaguest form, shaping itself into something remotely beast-like. It stood on four legs – that much was clear, but the only solid thing about it was its eyes, which gleamed with a bloody light.

 

Even as you watched, it vanished, only to reappear again at your side, then in front of you, and then it was gone again.

 

“It’s circling us,” you murmured.

 

This monster bounced around like a ball filled with helium, never staying in one place for more than a few seconds. At last, you heard Axel give a soft growl of annoyance.

 

“I’ve had enough of this thing!” Taking a firmer hold of his chakrams, he planted his feet and slowly raised his arms. You had seen him do this before; in response to his summoning, a broad ring of flames rose up out of the ground, trapping the creature inside. “Let’s see it get out of _that_ ,” he said, and you could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

 

Thankfully, this seemed to have some effect, as the creature slowed somewhat, and instead, began to pace around a short distance away from the fire, unwilling to get too close to it. It seemed that whatever kind of cloak it had on itself didn’t make it invulnerable to fire.

 

Both of you turned to face the massive Heartless, and with unspoken agreement, you split up. Axel began circling around to the beast’s left, while you took the right. As one, you drew back your weapons, and the air keened as his chakrams flew towards the creature, followed closely by the tendrils of your whip.

 

The beast leapt upwards to avoid the first chakram, but the second one clipped its shoulder, and it screeched as your own attack connected. Because the strands could be controlled individually, your weapon had more versatility than Axel’s did, and you were able to take a chunk out of its right leg.

 

Axel disappeared from your side, only to reappear behind the Heartless to catch his weapons, and throw them again. This time, they were engulfed in fire; he wasn’t pulling his punches with this thing. It was too big, and too dangerous.

 

In response, you flicked your arm, and Fading Corrosion lashed out at the creature’s chest. Both attacks connected, and in a burst of light, the shield the beast had put up around itself shattered.

 

An image flickered behind your eyes… _Stained glass, your image etched into it. A glowing castle behind you, and in your hand… Shattering, the pieces falling away… Engulfed in dark flames, eating away at your form. Broken, a lance of pain… Empty…fractured… **Nobody.**_

 

You fell to your knees, gasping as the scene faded from your mind. Something fell into place within your mind then, but you didn’t have time to think about it. It made sense now. It all made sense. Tucking that new memory away for later, you pulled yourself to your feet, studying your opponent.

 

The Heartless stood in front of you; your first thought was that it looked like some kind of black lion crossed with a dragon. Its pointed mouth was filled with jagged teeth, and around its face were six sharp protrusions, tipped in red. Three massive spines rose from its back, and four smaller ones sprouted from its whiplike tail. Each gigantic paw was tipped with four purple claws, each one sharp enough to rend you in two with hardly any effort. Oddly, its front legs were shackled by heavy iron cuffs, each one trailing a chain with a pronged anchor attached to it.

 

An idea came to you, then. If you could somehow get those chains pinned down, to stop its movement, then…Your eyes went to Axel, but only for an instant, as the beast took the opportunity to pounce at you. It must have sensed a weakness in you when you had gone down, but it was about to learn that it had made a mistake.

 

Without warning, you lunged forward, using the pliant sand that you stood on to slide beneath the beast. Fading Corrosion came to life in your hands, and the nine tendrils slithering through the loops of chain attached to it shackles. With a flick of your wrist, the sections drove themselves deep into the ground.

 

Axel saw what you were doing, and moved a bit closer, testing. The Heartless swiped at him with a lightning-fast slash of its claws, but it was brought up fast by the chain. It was holding…for now.

 

Now that it couldn’t move, Axel took the opportunity to attack again. His assault was relentless, ripping away pieces of the Heartless with an elegance that left you staring. Like Xaldin and Xemnas, you had only gotten to see him seriously fight a couple of times, and you wanted to take advantage of the moment while you still could.

 

With a roar loud enough that it left your ears ringing, the Heartless leapt into the air, and the sections of your whip holding the chains in place were ripped free of the sand; the ground was just too soft to hold it. Pulling the weapon free of the links before it could either be jerked out of your grip, or drag you along with the Heartless, you backed away from the middle of the area, putting yourself close enough to the fiery wall that the creature wouldn’t be able to get behind you. A short distance away, you saw Axel doing the same.

 

The beast began fighting back now, lashing out at the both of you seemingly at random. Try as you might, you could find no pattern to its attacks, and it was all you could do to dodge out of the way of those deadly talons.

 

The three of you were locked in combat for what seemed like hours; it was tiring you out, whereas it showed no signs of fatigue – you weren’t even sure if Heartless could _get_ tired. Slowly, you and Axel managed to chip away at it little by little, but it never seemed to be enough. You had to do something that would decisively turn the tide of battle.

 

Your eyes fixed once again on the chains that dragged along the ground between its front legs. They were the key, you knew. All you needed to do was…

 

By this point, you had made your way close enough to be able to speak to Axel. His chest was heaving, telling you that he was getting worn out as well. “I need you to do something for me,” you murmured, keeping your eyes on the Heartless as you spoke.

 

“What?”

 

“Distract that thing long enough for me to get beneath it again. I have an idea.”

 

He glanced over at you, seeing the look of determination on your face. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

 

“Don’t worry,” you assured him. “You’ll be fine.”

 

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something else, but he remained silent, and finally gave a nod of assent. Without waiting for any kind of signal, he circled halfway around the Heartless, getting close enough to it to guarantee that it would focus on him, rather than you.

 

He had only given you a small window of time, and you had to make the most of it. Lunging forward, you rolled beneath the creature again, being careful not to let it see you, but also to keep out of range of the constantly-moving claws that flashed just feet away from your body. Your plan would begin with the same idea you’d had before: you grabbed the final link of one of the chains that were attached to the Heartless, but this time, instead of attempting to bind it to the ground, you ducked beneath its stomach, leaping up between its shoulderblades and quickly hooking the small anchor around one of the spines rising from its back.

 

All thoughts of being stealthy were shattered by this point; the creature knew you were there, and it shook violently, trying to dislodge you. You let it, hitting the soft sand and rolling back underneath it. This time, it completely ignored Axel in favor of much closer prey.

 

But you weren’t finished yet, and you weren’t about to let it snap you up. If it got ahold of you, either with its teeth, or its claws, it would be the end. The chain attached to one of its legs drew taut as it tried to slash at you; it couldn’t reach you, you realized; your plan had worked! But there was still one more to go. Unfortunately, you weren’t able to manage that one.

 

In your hand, Fading Corrosion melted back into a single piece, and you flicked it at the creature’s mouth. The tendril hardened as it sang through the air, smashing into the bottom of its jaw and sinking into the flesh, keeping its maw firmly closed, for the moment.

 

“Axel, get the other anchor!”

 

He didn’t need to be told twice. Shifting both chakrams to one hand, he darted in close, taking hold of the second chain. Unlike you, however, he used a Corridor to bring himself to the top of the beast’s back, shaving off precious seconds that he would need to get himself back out of range. Once the other anchor was in place, the creature could no longer strike out at you.

 

It tossed its head in fury, finally breaking free of Fading Corrosion with another earsplitting roar. Axel leapt free of it, though you remained underneath its stomach, much to his confusion.

 

Kneeling down, you lay your weapon out in front of you. The black tendril twisted around itself before dividing into the nine usual sections. This time, however, it didn’t stop there. Nine became thirty-six, which became a hundred and forty-four, and by the time it was still again, the most you had ever managed: five hundred and seventy-six.

 

The pieces milled restlessly for a moment before surging upwards, puncturing through the beast’s stomach and chest, causing it to screech. It tugged at the chains holding its front legs, but was unable to move them more than a few inches forward. It shuddered; your ability was eating into its flesh, causing it to disintegrate before your very eyes, and for several long seconds, it was still.

 

Axel picked up where he had left off, opening deep slashes with his chakrams. The two of you were winning, though it had taken you so long just to reach this point.

 

But this didn’t last long. Despite its numerous injuries, the beast managed to leap into the air, disengaging itself from the numerous threads that had been holding it in place. Astonishingly, it turn itself around in midair, and its tail smashed into Axel just as he stepped out of a portal to catch his weapons. It sent him flying, and he came to a stop a short distance away from the wall of fire.

 

“Axel!” you screamed – but your worry was mispla ced. The Flurry of Dancing Flames was on his feet again in an instant, though he seemed to be favoring his side, where the creature’s tail had connected with him. Even from where you stood, you could see a wicked grin on his face; he was _enjoying_ this, you realized.

 

Growling softly, the beast lunged at him again, but you weren’t going to let it get a second chance at him. Anger such as you had never felt before filled you, and you clenched your teeth. All around you, the black tendrils of your whip came to life again, but this time, they weren’t aimed at the creature. Instead, they fanned out around you, each one dividing again and again.

 

Five hundred and seventy-six.

 

Six hundred and eight-four.

 

Eight hundred and ten.

And then finally…

 

 

More than one thousand needle-thin strands surrounded your form, obscuring you from view. As one, they surged forward, piercing through the Heartless and stopping it in its tracks. Already severely wounded from your and Axel’s onslaught, the creature swayed in place as it was impaled over and over again.

 

Pieces of its flesh began to flake away as the whip’s ability went to work, and the particles rose into the air, disappearing without a trace. Finally, at long last, the beast seemed to collapse in on itself, crumbling away to nothing.

 

For a few moments, the tendrils continued to wave around you, but at last, they melted back together into the original nine sections, then into one, and finally, disappeared, leaving you emptyhanded and swaying on your feet. Your eyes were blank; that had taken all of your strength.

 

Slowly, you looked up as Axel approached you. “Are you…all right?” you murmured.

 

You didn’t even get to hear his answer; your legs folded beneath you, and you collapsed. Axel barely had time to catch you before you hit the ground, already unconscious.

 

* * *

 

 

Before you were even fully awake, you became aware of three things. One, you weren’t quite sure where you were. Everything was quiet, leading you to believe at first that you were back in your room in The Castle That Never Was, except for a single discrepancy: you could hear a rhythmic whooshing sound that repeated every few seconds. It took you a moment to figure out that it was the sound of water; waves lapping gently against the land. A beach of some kind, then? The second thing you noticed was that your head was rested on something soft and warm. This realization led to the third thing; there was a weight rested across your stomach, keeping you still. You weren’t being held in place, but it was enough to dissuade you from moving.

 

Slowly, you opened your eyes, and you were greeted by the sight of a black sky stretching endlessly over your head. It looked like you were still in the Realm of Darkness, but in a place that you never dreamed existed. You looked to your left, and suddenly, the missing pieces of your situation fell into place. You were lying next to Axel, with your head in his lap. The weight you felt was his arm draped over you. The fingers of his right hand were rested lightly against the top of your head; you could feel them tickling against your hair.

 

He was seated against a large black boulder, and his eyes were closed. After you had activated Fading Corrosion’s limit, he must have brought you here, where the two of you could rest in safety.  His chest rose and fell slowly, telling you that he was asleep.

 

A faint smile curved up your lips; you had never seen him actually sleeping before. He looked so peaceful. It reminded you of that first night; shortly after you had become a Nobody, when he had stretched out on your bed, keeping you company until you relaxed enough to get some rest. On impulse, you reached up, lightly running the tips of your fingers over his cheek, your thumb tracing over one of the purple teardrop markings. It looked like you weren’t the only one who had tired yourself out.

 

Deciding not to wake him, you let your arm fall, and turned your attention to the black ocean that lay before you. Formations of rock rose out of the water here and there, capturing the image of the sea like a ragged picture frame. In the center of it, a brilliant orb hung low above the water; was that a moon? A white light lit up the horizon, suggesting a dawn that you were sure was false. Like The City That Never Was, you didn’t think this place had a sun. Regardless, the view was breathtaking; it might have been the most beautiful thing you had ever seen.

 

Axel shifted beneath you, and you looked back at him as he opened his eyes. The smile that had been on your face returned, and you couldn’t help but tease him a bit. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

 

It took him only a moment to come to full awareness; he didn’t seem to be the type that was slow to return to consciousness. “I thought I would wake up before you did,” he admitted with a yawn. “It was only meant to be a quick nap.” Even though you were awake, you noticed that he didn’t move his arm from across your torso. Really, you weren’t sure if you _wanted_ him to move it; you were surprisingly comfortable, laying here like this with your head in his lap.

 

Looking away from him, you gazed out at the ocean. “How did you know this place was here, and that it was safe?” At least, you _assumed_ it was safe; you didn’t think he would have let himself fall asleep if there was a chance of being attacked, and there was no trace of the Heartless, even the smallest Shadow.

 

“I heard someone talking about it, a long time ago. But this is the first time I’ve ever had the chance to come here. I’ve been meaning to, just to see if it was real, but I never got around to it,” he replied, following your line of sight.

 

“I had no idea a place like this existed in the Realm of Darkness. To think that the world of the Heartless would be hiding something so beautiful.” If permitted, you could have sat here for hours, listening to the sound of the waves. As empty as this world was – and you could still feel that emptiness, even here – there was something about this one place that was almost comforting. Or perhaps it wasn’t the place at all, but who you were _with_. If you had been here alone, it was entirely possible that you wouldn’t have felt this way. He’d always had that effect on you, right from the beginning.

 

“You know,” you continued, “I’ve been to a lot of worlds now, and I’ve seen some amazing places, but never anything like this. I thought this was an evil place, filled with Heartless. But now, looking at this, I don’t know if that’s entirely true.”

 

This made him chuckle. “Evil or not, it makes for a good place to take a break. I thought about just going back to the Castle, but then I remembered what I’d heard. Seemed like a good time to finally see it for myself.”

 

“I’m glad you brought me along.” You were silent for a long time, thinking. But at last, you broke the silence again. “Axel, do you remember when I asked you if you’d ever felt a sense of…well, déjà vu?”

 

“Right after you fought Xemnas? I remember.”

 

“I finally…remember where I saw the Castle. It was the same place I saw Fading Corrosion, too. Right after I lost my heart, I dreamed that I was taken to this…this _place_. I saw some kind of image; I think it was of me. What I became, I mean. I was holding the whip, and in the background, I could see the Castle.” You gave a short laugh. “Some dream, huh? But I guess that explains why I couldn’t remember it. Dreams sometimes slip away from you after a while, you know?” But at least you now understood what had happened to you just a little more. It filled in a piece of the puzzle you had been missing.

 

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “Some dream…”

 

Because you were looking away, you didn’t see him, but Axel was studying your face. His gaze slipped down over your features, finally settling on your mouth, which was curled up into a gentle smile that seemed almost melancholy. He had to resist the urge to trace his thumb over those lips; what would it be like, to kiss you? What did you taste like? Sitting here like this, it was impossible to keep those thoughts out of his mind. Nobodies didn’t have hearts, to the point where some, like Saix, believed that new bonds couldn’t even be formed anymore. But Axel wasn’t sure that he agreed. Sitting here like this, he certainly felt _something_.

 

As the days passed, and the two of you spent more and more time together, it was getting harder to resist, harder to pretend that nothing was changing. And then you had been ordered here, where you had exhausted yourself bringing out your weapon’s full power. He hadn’t thought anything of it at first, letting you rest your head in his lap. It had been a matter of comfort while you were unconscious. But then his arm had somehow found its way across your body, and the fingers of his other hand were all but tangled in your hair. He couldn’t bring himself to regret holding you like this, but it had come with some unforeseen complications.

 

But then he had noticed something. You hadn’t moved. While it was possible that you were still too tired to get up, he wasn’t so sure that was the actual reason. You had been asleep for a while now, so you should have recovered enough to be able to move normally. Yet you remained where you were, not showing any signs of wanting to change anything.

 

There was one way to find out which one it was, but he would have to be careful. He didn’t want to frighten you, if you simply were still just resting. Slowly, his hand moved, and he stroked your hair, just once. The touch was featherlight, using barely enough pressure for you to even be able to feel it. In fact, for a moment, he wasn’t sure that you had.

 

But then, your head turned, and you looked up at him, only to realize that he was watching you; apparently had been before this, as he made no move to avert his eyes. Instead, you felt his gloved hand caress your hair again, more firmly this time. If you had been unsure before, that was wiped away as you felt his arm slide a bit farther over your stomach, his fingers hooking around your side.

 

“Axel…?” you murmured, your voice barely audible. You weren’t upset by what he was doing, simply curious.

 

He gave you a smile in return to your question. Silently, he leaned forward, and you froze as you felt his lips brush lightly over your forehead. It wasn’t a kiss; not really. But it left you with a sudden tightness in your stomach, and your breath caught in your throat. You felt the weight of his arm across you suddenly lessen; he hadn’t raised his arm completely, but he had made it clear that you could sit up if you wanted to.

 

The thing was, though, you weren’t sure that you did. Truthfully, you wanted to feel his lips move down lower, and find yours. You wanted him to kiss you – a _real_ kiss. So you kept still, your eyes on his, waiting to see what he would do.

 

You felt his fingers twine gently through your hair, and he straightened, somewhat to your disappointment, looking out over the water. “This place really sets the mood, huh?” he commented, half to himself.

 

It certainly did. Whether or not he had brought you here with this particular purpose in mind, you couldn’t think of a more appropriate setting. “Yes, it does,” you agreed.

 

His gaze cut back to you as you said this, and you saw the ghost of that impish smile appear on his face. Were you implying what he thought you were? More slowly this time, his back arched, and he closed the distance between the two of you. He pulled you a bit closer, his fingers skimming across your side. “I’ve wanted to try this for a while now,” he murmured.

 

His lips were just millimeters from yours when suddenly, you heard the sound of a Corridor of Darkness opening nearby. In one fluid motion, you were on your feet and turning around as someone stepped out of the portal. How you had managed such a feat without cracking your head against Axel’s, neither of you would ever know, but somehow, you had slipped out from beneath him and stood up within the span of just a few seconds. That rest had done you good; you had full range of motion again.

 

The new arrival looked back and forth between you and Axel through a single yellow eye, a wolfish smile on his scarred face. “Not interrupting anything, am I?” Xigbar asked, his rough voice filled with amusement.

 

There was no doubt in your mind that you hadn’t been able to pull away from Axel fast enough; he had seen that almost-kiss, and the knowledge of that made you burn with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. Had it been anyone else – _anyone_ – it wouldn’t have been such a problem; you could have simply shrugged it off, knowing that they probably couldn’t care less about what they had inadvertently walked in on.

 

But Xigbar was different. You knew that he wouldn’t be forgetting this for a long time, nor would he be willing to simply let it go. This was going to come back around to bite you…and Axel.

 

Your brow furrowed. As much as you wanted to remain here, and perhaps pick up where you had left off – once Xigbar had left, of course – you knew that your presence would only be adding fuel to the fire. If you removed yourself, the fallout for Axel might not be as bad; Xigbar might lose interest in teasing if both parties weren’t around to embarrass. Sighing, you glanced back at your companion, hoping he would see the apology in your eyes. Raising one hand, you summoned a Corridor of your own and stepped into it.

 

“Wow, she took off in a hurry. Was it something I said?” Xigbar’s grin widened; that must have been a blow to Axel’s ego, to have you disappear so quickly, without even waiting for him. He knew that it was his own presence that had made you all but flee, but he couldn’t help himself; it was just too easy, and he had never been one to pass up an opportunity when it presented itself practically gift-wrapped for him.

 

Axel’s sigh – or was it more of a growl? - matched the one you had given as he watched you vanish into the swirling tendrils, no doubt retreating back to the Castle. The moment had been lost; Xigbar had appeared at the crucial moment, apparently causing you to panic, and now you were gone. Who knew what damage had been done?

 

“What do you want, Xigbar?” he asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Of all the times for someone to come looking for them… Knowing what he did about the Organization’s Number II, he might have thought the yellow-eyed man had done it on purpose, though it was impossible for him to have known what he would be interrupting. It was just luck of the very worst kind.

 

“You’ve been gone for two days. We were starting to wonder if the Heartless had gotten you,” the Freeshooter replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Axel arched one eyebrow. Had it really been two days? He had forgotten how easy it was to lose track of time in the Realm of Darkness. Like The City That Never Was, it was impossible to tell day from night; time seemed eternally frozen in place. It was no wonder that Xemnas had sent someone after the two of you, if that was the case.

 

He stood up, brushing the dark sand off of himself. “I should head back, then. I would thank you for coming to find us, but I don’t really feel like it.”

 

Xigbar moved over to him, casually throwing one arm over the redhead’s shoulders. “What’s the matter, Fireball? Upset that I interrupted your little date? She seemed pretty eager to get away, though, so the fault isn’t entirely mine.”

 

“You want to stop right there,” Axel warned him, pushing the other man’s arm off his shoulders and stepping away. He wasn’t in any sort of mood to deal with the older man’s teasing.

 

Xigbar raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay; no offense meant. I was just kidding. Still…I can’t say I expected to see something like that. Our little Number Eight is all grown up, and has found himself a sweetheart!” Then again, Xigbar had seen enough to know that Axel’s kiss had been unfulfilled; you had jumped up before he could close the distance. While the Freeshooter had known you had been spending a lot of time with the redhead lately, he hadn’t thought anything of it. He was perceptive enough to be able to pick up on the little details that most people would have missed, but nothing about your behavior suggested that either of you were interested in the other. Was it possible that this was the first time one of you had made a move? Granted, he had never been able to find the two of you when you were together, so he couldn’t say exactly what you got up to during that time, but the information he had gathered over time led him to believe that this was actually something new.

 

Axel rolled his eyes at this. It was a big leap to go from an attempted kiss to a full-blown relationship, as Xigbar had implied. And based on how quickly you had leapt up upon his arrival, Axel wasn’t even sure that you had wanted him to do that. It was why he had taken the weight of his arm off of you, after all; so you wouldn’t feel pinned down, should you not want his attentions. But you had remained still, right up until…

 

Hmm. He would have to think about this, and plan his next move carefully.

 

Turning to look at Xigbar, he summoned a Corridor, and as it enveloped him, he waved one arm at the Freeshooter. “Next time you’re sent to come find someone, be more considerate about your timing. They may not want to be interrupted.” He tapped the side of his head. “Got it memorized?”

 

The last thing he saw before he disappeared was that wolfish smile, and a single yellow eye, almost glowing in the dim light.

 

* * *

 

 

You came out of the Corridor of Darkness pacing. It had deposited you in your room, and you briskly walked over to the rectangular window carved into the grey wall – the only adornment  in the room, apart from your bed – and then abruptly turned, striding back until you almost reached the door.

 

What had just happened? What had just _happened_?

 

Your breathing came quickly as you spun around, tracing your steps back to the window again. This time you stopped, bracing your hands on the sill and looking out into the darkness. Axel had almost kissed you – _would_ have kissed you, had Xigbar not chosen that exact moment to appear. Normally, you didn’t have any problem with the Freeshooter; the two of you were actually friends, of a sort. But in that moment, you found that you wanted nothing more than to smack him for his horrible timing.

 

Everything about that moment had been perfect, and you could still feel the warmth of Axel’s arm across your body. Had you taken the initiative, instead of waiting for him to do it, the outcome might have been vastly different. It was your fault just as much as it was Xigbar’s, you realized, and you felt yourself calm slightly. Much as you might like to, you couldn’t completely blame him. It had never been in your nature to take charge of a situation like that, and it had been your downfall this time.

 

Sighing, you shook the thought out of your mind. It would do no good to dwell on it. What was done, was done, and there was still something you needed to do.

 

Although it would have been quicker to simply summon another Corridor to take you directly where you wanted to go, you wanted the extra time to clear your head. You made your way over to the door, going out into the hall and towards The Grey Area. Saix would be waiting for your report, and even though you knew Axel would probably do it when he decided to return, you saw no harm in providing one, as well.

 

When you entered the room, your eyes fell upon the Luna Diviner, who was standing on the other side of the room, gazing out of the floor-length windows that made up the far wall. A part of you was surprised to see him; it was quite late – you’d half-expected to find the room empty. He turned as he heard you approaching, his cool golden gaze appraising you as you stopped a short distance away. Like Xemnas, Saix had always intimidated you, though to a lesser degree than the Superior.

 

To your surprise, he broke the silence first. “I take it your return to the Castle means that your attempts to bring out your weapon’s limit were successful?”

 

“Yes, but I didn’t realize we had been gone two days. Time has a way of…losing itself in that place.” Your speech always became more formal when you were talking with him; it seemed more respectful, somehow, to speak the way he did.

 

“And Axel? Did he not return with you?”

 

You hesitated, then shook your head. “He, uh… I came back on my own. He’s fine; I’m sure that he’ll be back soon, if he isn’t already.” Having come straight here, you didn’t know if the redhead was still talking with Xigbar, or if he had come back to the Castle, and just hadn’t made his way here yet. It was possible that he had decided to report directly to Xemnas; you and the others did that sometimes, though the Superior was notoriously elusive, and no one seemed to know where he disappeared to. Truthfully, you had never tried that hard to find him; as cold as Saix was, he was vastly more approachable than the amber-eyed leader.

 

“We didn’t anticipate a two-day absence; I sent Xigbar to find you.” Saix crossed his arms, though his tone was as neutral as it always was; he didn’t seem to be angry at you for having taken so long to come back.

 

You couldn’t stop the scowl that came to your face at the mention of the Freeshooter, though you quickly schooled your expression back to respectful impassiveness. Still, you were sure that Saix had seen it, as his golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “He did,” you confirmed. “He and Axel were talking when I left.”

 

“It’s unusual for those who are sent on missions together to come back separately,” the Luna Diviner pointed out. For a moment, you were afraid that he was going to ask what had happened to cause that, but to your relief, he simply turned back to face the window once more. In times like this, his lack of interest in the personal lives of the other members was a godsend; you didn’t know how you would have explained what had happened on that beach…even though the nasty thought intruded that Xigbar might very well end up telling him anyway. “If you’ve been wounded, have Vexen see to your injuries. You’re dismissed.”

 

You didn’t need to be told twice. Turning, you quickly hurried out of The Grey Area, and back towards your own room. Though it had lasted only a few minutes, that report had left you unexpectedly tense. It had felt like Saix would just somehow _know_ … That was impossible, of course. It was funny how that worked; whenever you had a secret to keep, you felt sure that everyone else could see it in your mind, and this had been no exception.

 

When you reached your room, you closed the door behind you, moving over to the bed. Pulling off your boots, you stripped off your gloves and pants, leaving you clad only in your coat.

 

Stretching out on your stomach, you buried your face in the pillow, sighing. It had been a tiring two days, and you were ready for some rest.

 

* * *

 

 

When you opened your eyes, you found yourself stretched out on one of the couches in The Grey Area. How had you gotten here? The last thing you remembered, you had been in your own room, having returned there after making your report to Saix. Had you sleepwalked? If so, it was the first time in your life that you had ever done so. Not only that, but you had apparently taken the time to redress. This was getting more bizarre by the moment.

 

You sat up, shaking your head. Maybe it was the stress of fighting for your life in the Realm of Darkness that had caused it… As you began to climb to your feet, you heard someone enter the room. Turning your head, you saw Axel coming towards you. Sudden heat flooded your cheeks; he wasn’t wearing his gloves or his coat; it looked like he slept without them. He was yawning, and hadn’t seemed to notice you yet.

 

But this quickly changed as his eyes landed on you, and he came to a stop, blinking in surprise. “Oh, uh…hey. I didn’t think you would be… Couldn’t sleep?”

 

“Something like that,” you replied, not wanting to tell him the truth, especially since you weren’t sure of it yourself.

 

“Mind if I join you, then?”

 

You moved to the edge of the couch, a silent invitation for him to sit beside you. There were other pieces of furniture in the room that he could have utilized, but you didn't think twice about giving him room next to you.

 

Coming around the side of the couch, he all but flopped down onto it, somehow still managing to make the movement graceful. You remained silent, not sure what to say. There was an air of tension between the two of you, and you didn’t like that. But you weren’t sure how to address the elephant in the room.

 

Axel folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, stretching his long legs out in front of him before crossing them at the ankle. His casual behavior made you arch one eyebrow. Did he not feel the awkward atmosphere? Maybe it was just you, then…

 

Drawing your own legs beneath you, you fiddled absently with the edges of your gloves, watching him out of the corner of one eye. He wasn’t asleep; you could tell that much. But he also didn’t seem to feel your gaze on him. Slowly, your head turned a bit farther, and you bit your lip. This late at night, Saix was nowhere to be found, and everyone else was probably asleep by this point, leaving you and Axel completely alone.

 

You weren’t sure if this was a blessing, or a curse.

 

An uncomfortable knot of tension suddenly appeared in your lower stomach, making you squirm. This prompted Axel into opening his eyes, and he looked over at you questioningly.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I just…” Your voice trailed off. How were you supposed to answer a question like that? You couldn’t tell him how his close proximity made you feel, but the discomfort wasn’t going away, and probably wouldn’t, as long as he was sitting there beside you. One of you had to move, and it didn’t look like it was going to be him. “I’m going to bed,” you said abruptly, standing up. Because your eyes were averted, you didn’t see his own green orbs narrow, nor did you see his hand dart out as you passed by him.

 

Your only warning was a sudden firm grip on your wrist before you were tugged down into his lap. A yelp of surprise rose up in your throat, but it was quickly muffled by Axel’s hand coming up to gently cover your mouth.

 

“Shh,” he murmured into your ear; he was holding you snugly against his chest, his free arm hooked around your waist, preventing you from moving. “Don’t want to wake anyone up, do you?”

 

You shook your head, and his hand lifted from your mouth. “What are you doing?” you hissed, as soon as you were free to speak again. Not that you were complaining, really, but you _were_ utterly confused.

 

His hand trailed smoothly up your arm; you could feel it even through the material of your coat, and it made goosebumps erupt over your skin. “I’ve been looking for you since you left the beach; you weren’t in your room.”

 

“I went to find Saix; he would have wanted me to report in as soon as I came back,” you explained, noticing that he hadn’t answered your question.

 

“You left so fast…I thought you might have been mad at me.” His hand had reached your shoulder now, and you felt him skim lightly over your neck; you had to repress the urge to shiver. Gently taking hold of your chin, he turned your face towards him.

 

What you saw in his eyes made your stomach clench painfully. The normally-vivid irises had darkened to a smoky green, and were filled with heat that you knew was directed at you. It looked like he intended to finish what he had started on the beach. But what exactly that meant, you didn’t know. Would he be satisfied with a kiss? The look in his eyes suggested otherwise.

 

“No,” you whispered, your voice strained. “I wasn’t mad. I was…embarrassed. You know what Xigbar’s like. If I had stayed there, it would have just given him more ammunition to use against you, and I didn’t want that. I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize,” he said firmly. “I’ll take care of that later. Right now, though…” Slowly, he leaned forward, his eyes focused on your lips.

 

“Axel, we shouldn’t… The others…”

 

“…are asleep,” he finished, and his mouth brushed against yours. When you didn’t push him away, he pulled you closer against him, his hands roaming across your back, and finally, your lips met in the kiss that had been denied you the first time.

 

A burst of heat flared within you; kissing him was like nothing you had ever experienced before. He wasn’t your first, but it was unique in that it made you tingle from head to toe. You reached up, placing your hands on his shoulders, and you melted against him as he dipped you back, one arm supporting you as you reclined in his embrace.

 

When he finally broke the kiss, you were breathing hard, and your head was spinning. “There. Now that’s taken care of.” He gave you a wicked grin, as if he was aware of the effect he was having on you.

 

Things were moving faster than you had anticipated, but you found that you didn’t care. As his hand moved to the top zipper of your coat, he unhooked the metal chain, and it chimed softly as it fell away, the only sound in the otherwise quiet room, apart from your breathing. Slowly, he drew the zipper down, and he pushed the edges aside one after the other.

 

You shivered as your breasts were exposed to the chilly air of the room, but you made no move to cover yourself. Strangely, you didn’t feel embarrassed in front of him, even though you knew that you should have, especially since there was the threat of someone walking in on you at any moment. Then again, perhaps that just added to the thrill, knowing that you could be discovered. It added a sort of forbidden spice to the entire thing.

 

Axel leaned back slightly, his eyes drinking in the sight of your partially-bared form. His gaze lingered on your nipples, which had hardened automatically upon contact with the cool air. Slowly, he leaned forward, and licked the nearest peak, making your breath catch in your throat. Before you could do anything, he had taken it fully into his mouth, suckling on the sensitive flesh hungrily. His hand came up to tweak the other one, and you couldn’t stop yourself from arching against him. A moan threatened to tear from your throat, but you stifled it, knowing that sound carried in this place; you had to be as quiet as possible.

 

His warm mouth moved up towards your neck, and he suddenly bit down, hard enough to leave a mark. This time, you were unable to stop the gasp that emerged; you hadn’t expected the sharp sting, even though it only hurt for an instant, and it was a sweet pain; one that you didn’t mind. You would gladly bear his mark, though you had to wonder just how many he intended to leave before the night was through. That he was far from finished with you, there was no doubt in your mind. The ferocity of his attentions to you was more than enough to tell you that. But you did wish that he would take this somewhere more private… You didn’t think that you would be able to stand being interrupted again, especially in your current state.

 

But you had little time to think about this, as you felt the hand that had been on your breast slowly creep down over your stomach. You froze, your eyes widening.

 

“Axel, wait-”

 

He kissed you again, cutting off whatever protest you had been about to make. It looked like he didn’t have the same fear of being discovered that you did, as his fingers unerringly sought out the buttons holding your pants closed. Deftly, he began to unfasten them, and the black garment loosened around your hips. When the final one came free, he slipped his hand inside, and you gasped again as he found-

 

You sat bolt upright in your bed, breathing hard. _Another_ one… That was the seventh time in ten days! Every time you blinked, you could still see Axel’s lithe, bare form in your mind. Or rather, what you _thought_ he looked like. His coat was tight enough that it didn’t leave much to the imagination, so you were fairly confident in the dream version your brain had conjured up.

 

As the haze of sleep cleared, leaving behind an almost painful ache between your legs, you realized that you weren’t going to be able to rest again; at least, not for a while. Your body was too worked up from that dream. For  a moment, a part of you was tempted to go and find Vexen, to see if he might have some kind of potion that might allow you a dreamless sleep. But it was the middle of the night; he probably wasn’t even awake, and you didn’t know if you wanted to risk his wrath should this be the case. On top of that, he might want to know just what was keeping you up at night, and you certainly weren’t willing to share that information.

 

Your lack of sleep hadn’t gone unnoticed by the others. Only two days ago, Xaldin had scolded you for not being as alert as you should have been while on a mission with him. If that wasn’t bad enough, more and more often, you had caught Axel’s teal-green eyes on you when you were relaxing in The Grey Area, a worried expression on his face. You had been avoiding him ever since the dreams had started, and you could tell that his concern was beginning to grow. It probably wouldn’t be long before he confronted you about it.

 

But what were you supposed to say? _I’m afraid that if I get too close to you, I won’t be able to stop myself from ripping your coat off._ The very thought made you want to laugh. Or it would have, if it hadn’t been absolutely true. A kiss on a dark beach was one thing, but what was going through your mind on a nightly basis took things much farther than that, and you didn’t want to risk Axel learning exactly what he had become to you.

 

Abruptly, you turned over on the bed, bringing one arm up to rest across your eyes. This was getting ridiculous. You needed to sleep, before exhaustion got the better of you, and you made a grave mistake on a mission. More than once, you’d entertained the thought of simply taking care of it on your own, but you had convinced yourself that you weren’t _that_ desperate.

 

That point had come and gone by now.

 

Raising your arm, you glanced towards the door. It was firmly closed. Your bit your lip, considering. What harm would it do, really? These dreams were beginning to interfere with your work, and that was unacceptable. Something had to be done.

 

The arm that had been across your eyes moved down to rest on your stomach. In preparation for bed, you had undressed, and the only thing standing between you and sleep was the bottom of your coat, where it spread open over your thighs.

 

Lightly, your hand crept down, and you bent your knee, leaving the other lying flat on the bed. You jumped slightly at the first touch of your fingers on the inside of your thigh; your skin was even more sensitive than you had thought. Your skin was hot beneath your hand, and you moved closer to your aching center, shuddering when you finally came into contact with it. You hadn’t realized how much you had been desiring a touch like this, even if it wasn’t necessarily your own touch you wanted.

 

Not bothering with subtlety, you went to work, ghosting lightly over your folds to begin with, collecting the dampness that had gathered there. Your fingers trailed back up and began to circle around the bundle of nerves at the top of your entrance, and a lance of electricity seared through you, pleasure unfurling spiky tendrils within your blood.

 

A tremor ran through you, and you closed your eyes, biting back a gasp. Your other hand came up to unzip your coat a few inches, revealing the curves of your breasts. Gently, you plucked at one nipple, catching it between two fingers and squeezing until the pleasure threatened to turn into pain.

 

Your thumb replaced your fingers between your legs, and you continued you work, dipping a single digit inside of yourself, soon followed by a second. They were gripped tightly by your walls, causing a delicious friction when you pulled them back, only to press forward again.

 

After a couple of minutes, the now-slick fingers inside of you slipped out, creeping upwards to circle around the sensitive bud that was the seat of your pleasure. You pinched it gently, biting back another wordless cry. The castle was huge, so there was little chance that you would be overheard, but you didn’t want to take any chances. Even in the desire-induced haze that clouded your mind, there were some risks that you still didn’t want to take.

 

Although you were much smaller than the redhead, with a bit of imagination, it wasn’t difficult to envision his hands in place of your own, wringing the pleasure out of your body. In your mind’s eye, you could see him, sitting beside you on the bed, one hand placed flat on your stomach to keep you still, while the other worked between your legs to bring you to climax.

 

So caught up were you in this image, you didn’t even hear the door open.

 

* * *

 

 

Axel sighed as he walked down the hallway, heading for your room. He had been debating with himself for a while now, wondering if he should confront you about what had been wrong with you lately. For the past week and a half, ever since you had come back from the Realm of Darkness, something had clearly been on your mind, and it was causing you to avoid him whenever you could. He knew that doing this might actually make things worse, rather than better, but you were beginning to fray around the edges, and he didn’t want to see you hurt on a mission because you couldn’t concentrate. Better that you be mad at him than injured.

 

With that in mind, he sought you out when he knew you would be in your room, and wouldn’t have the chance to flee, as you had done on more than one occasion whenever he got too close to you.

 

His hand was hovering in front of the door, preparing to knock, when he thought he heard something. It was faint; so quiet that he might have imagined it.

 

“ _Axel_ …”

 

You’d said his name.

 

His mouth suddenly went dry at the implications of this. The simple answer was that you had fallen asleep, and were dreaming about him. There was no reason for him to think that it was anything more than that. Yet somehow, he just _knew_ …that wasn’t what had drawn his name from your lips. Slowly, his hand lowered, until he found the handle of the door. He should just leave right now, and forget this had ever happened. If you were doing what he _thought_ you were doing, then he had no right to intrude. But he found himself hesitating. If he _hadn’t_ imagined that, then it was him you were thinking about. Curiosity – and a sudden heat spreading through him – kept him still. Xigbar had taken his one chance away from him, and he wasn’t about to let a second opportunity, one he hadn’t thought he would ever get, slip through his grasp.

 

With that thought in mind, he turned the handle, opening the door just enough to be able to slip inside before closing it behind him…and locking it for good measure. There would be no interruptions this time; he would make sure of that.

 

The sight that greeted him was one he hadn’t been prepared for, even knowing beforehand what he might be walking into. You were stretched out on your bed, bare from the waist down – though your coat prevented him from seeing anything above mid-thigh. Your eyes were closed, your lips parted slightly as your breath left you in quick pants, punctuated every now and then by an almost inaudible moan.

 

His own eyes trailed down your body, lingering for a moment on your partially-exposed breasts. For a moment, he simply watched as you rolled a nipple between your fingers, and he couldn’t help but wonder what shade of pink the delicate buds might be. He couldn’t tell from here. The thought crossed his mind that he could do a better job at that; he would have access to both at once, whereas you could only manage one at a time. But at last, the almost frantic movements between your thighs drew his gaze farther down.

 

Judging by how fast your hand moved, it looked like you had been putting this off to the point of desperation. There were no long, languid movements designed to draw out the pleasure slowly, drop by drop; no flickering, light touches that would tease the nerve endings beneath the skin, heightening the sensations that you would ultimately feel. No, your ministrations were hard and fast as you sought release. This wasn’t a matter of idle pleasure – this was sheer relief, plain and simple.

 

Already, he could feel himself beginning to harden at the sight of you laid out before him, your pleasure ripe for the taking. “So,” he said at last, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest, “this is why you’ve been avoiding me.”

 

* * *

 

 

At the sound of his voice, your eyes snapped open, and you sat bolt upright. Curling your legs beneath you, you hastily gripped the edge of your coat closed. A fierce blush lit up your face as you looked over at him. He was watching you _very_ intently, you noticed, though his expression was unreadable.

 

“Axel, I…how long have you been standing there?”

 

He shrugged. “Not long. You’ve been acting weird lately, and I wanted to know why. I thought I heard my name, so…” He trailed off, gesturing with one hand, and allowing you to draw your own conclusions.

 

You swallowed hard, looking away. This was something he had never been meant to know about, yet there he stood. You couldn’t simply deny what he had clearly seen with his own eyes. There was no mistaking what you had been doing, or who you had been thinking about. While it was true that he had tried to kiss you that once, it was the _only_ thing he had ever tried to do. Then again, you had started avoiding him shortly thereafter, so it wasn’t like he’d had much opportunity. On the other hand, though, this was the first time he had tried to come find you since then. It had taken him a _long_ time to do that.

 

Your gaze was drawn back to him as he stepped away from the wall. You had expected him to turn and leave, but instead, he was walking towards you.

 

“Why did you stop?” he asked, coming to a halt a few feet away.

 

You blinked, not sure you had heard him right. “Huh?”

 

“You clearly had something going there, so why did you stop? You seemed to be enjoying yourself.” Was that a trace of humor you heard in his voice? It was hard to tell.

 

“Because…” What kind of question was that? He had to know why you stopped. He had scared the wits out of you when he had said something, and whatever spell you had managed to cast over yourself had been broken in that moment.  “I, uh…” He was still watching you so intently, it was difficult to think of a good excuse.

 

“All right, you don’t have to answer that. But you _do_ have to tell me this. Did I actually hear my name…or was that my imagination?”

 

At this point, the color of your face matched his hair. “Why should I have to tell you that?” Despite the fact that you were the most embarrassed that you had ever been your life, your traitorous body was still just as heated as it had been before you realized that you were being watched. His close proximity was doing nothing to make this better. But you weren’t sure that you wanted him to leave. What you _did_ want was an insight into his mind about what he thought of the accidental show he had gotten, however short it may have been.

 

“You’ve been avoiding me ever since that night on the beach, and even on missions, you ignore me almost completely. Don’t you think you owe me something in return for all of that?” He hadn’t moved from his position, and you had the feeling that he wasn’t _going_ to move until he got what he wanted. But in some small way, this was a bit of a relief. It meant that he wasn’t overly upset about what he had witnessed. If he was, he would have simply left without bothering to question you.

 

You sighed, lowering your head. He had a point. You had been treating him terribly these past couple of weeks, and he hadn’t done anything to deserve that. Still, you had to fight to answer him; it wasn’t something you wanted to admit to.

 

“It wasn’t…your imagination,” you murmured.

 

He was silent for so long that you finally had to look up at him. This time, there was no mistake. He was smiling, and there was a decidedly wicked edge to it. “Well, then…” His voice was silky, and it sent a pleasant tingle skittering up your spine. “Maybe you should finish what you started, if you’ve been that uncomfortable.”

 

Your eyes widened at his words. “You want me to… In front of you?” You weren’t sure if you could do this. It was one thing to do something like that when you were alone, but quite another when you knew you were being watched. Especially when the observer was the very object of your thoughts. _Doubly_ especially when he _knew_ he was the object of your thoughts. All of these factors were working against you, even though your body seemed to agree enthusiastically with his suggestion.

 

“Why not?” He took another step towards you. “If it’ll help you get over this sudden shyness, don’t you think it’s worth a try?”

 

He was close enough to you now that you could have reached out and touched him if you’d wanted to. And you certainly _did_ want to. But you were still uncertain of his presence here, and that made you hold back.

 

“I…I’m not sure if I can…”

 

Axel’s eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn’t used to seeing this side of you. You hadn’t been this wary since he had first found you on the streets outside the Castle, and he didn’t want to return to those days. “All right, then. What if I helped you along?” Without being invited, he bent one long leg beneath him, sitting down next to you on the bed. “Nothing to be embarrassed about then, right? But first…”

 

You weren’t sure if you agreed with this, but you didn’t get the chance to protest as Axel reached out, curling one hand behind your head, pulling you to him. Automatically, your hands came up to catch yourself on his chest, and you inadvertently released the front of your coat as you did so. His free arm snaked around your side, fingers splaying out across your lower back.

 

All thought was wiped from your mind as his lips covered yours, warm and soft. The kiss was everything you had imagined it would be, if not more. It was gentle, but you could feel an underlying hunger in it. It took your breath away, and left you panting when he finally pulled back, licking his lips. You had to resist the urge to do the same; he tasted so good – some kind of spice, you thought, with a faint bite of heat to it.

 

“There. For the missed opportunity on the beach.” His eyes danced wickedly as he watched you, and he made no move to let you go. Instead, the arm wrapped around you slid downward slowly, until he reached your hip. Taking hold of the back of your thigh, he pulled your lower half towards him, until you were forced to recline back, catching yourself on your elbows. As you did so, the front of your coat was left free, and you saw his gaze dart down to take in the sight of your partially-bared breasts.

 

Ever so slightly, he leaned forward, and for a moment, you thought he was going to push the material aside and take one of them into his mouth. But then he seemed to get ahold of himself, and straightened once more, grabbing one of your hands. As he tried to bring it up, you resisted, making him look at you curiously.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing. I just… Would you, instead?” It came as no real surprise to you that you craved his touch more than your own. Even though he was completely unfamiliar with your body, you didn’t care. Practiced hands meant nothing if you had the option of something more, and _he_ was that something.

 

This made him blink. “Are you sure?” Helping you get over your nervousness was one thing, but actually doing it himself… That was an offer he wasn’t about to refuse.

 

“I’m sure.” Your voice was firmer this time. Your hand curled around his, still encased in his glove, and you brought it down to slide beneath the fabric of your coat. As his thumb coasted lightly over your nipple, he suddenly leaned down. Before you knew what he was doing, he had unzipped your coat a few more inches, so that your breasts were now fully exposed to his gaze. For a few seconds, he studied the soft swells, and a hungry gleam appeared in his eyes. He swiftly leaned down, capturing the neglected peak in his mouth, and flicking it with his tongue.

 

Almost immediately, your back arched, and he used his free hand to press you back down onto the bed. After a few moments, he raised his head just long enough to give you a single suggestion.

 

“Why don’t you touch yourself? Give me an idea of what you like the best.”

 

The faintest hint of a smile came to your face. “I have another idea.” Taking the hand that wasn’t currently occupied, you pulled his glove off, tossing it aside. Your own hand found its way between your legs, resting lightly against your slick folds. “Put your hand over mine.”

 

He resituated himself on the bed beside you so that he was lying on his side, his right arm curled around you and cupping your breast, while his mouth hovered within range of the other. His left hand settled over your smaller one, engulfing it entirely. The skin of his palm was pleasantly rough, you realized, providing a stark contrast against your own silky flesh.

 

For a moment, you paused, savoring the feel of his warm body pressed against yours. But at last, you made yourself move, two fingers finding the highly-sensitized bud above your entrance and beginning to circle it.

 

The next thing you knew, Axel’s mouth was on your throat, nipping and licking at the flesh. You automatically tilted your head back without thinking, and your breath caught. He trailed down, and your body suddenly stiffened as he reached a particular spot; precisely where your neck met your shoulder. A tingle raced through you, and you shivered.

 

“Looks like I found something interesting,” he mused. “I’ll have to get that memorized.” Lightly, he bit down, causing you to give a surprised squeak. Had your neck always been that sensitive? It just seemed to be in that one place, though you had been enjoying his ministrations immensely. But there was something about that small patch of flesh that caused you to shudder every time he touched it.

 

All the while, your fingers were busily at work, dancing across the nerve cluster with just the right amount of pressure. While this would have been enough to eventually bring you to climax, it seemed that Axel wasn’t satisfied with just this. His hand raised from yours, and he took hold of your leg, draping it over his thigh and giving him better access when he returned to his former position. This time, though, he didn’t wait for you. Instead, he took his own initiative, a single digit finding your opening and pressing into it.

 

The intrusion wasn’t painful, but it was so exquisitely _different_ from your own touch that you arched against him, your free hand coming up to grasp the one that was currently stroking and tugging at the peak of your breast.

 

“Are you always this squirmy?” he asked in amusement, his normally-smooth voice carrying a hint of roughness as his own arousal continued to climb. He would have a long night ahead of him, after this was finished. Ironic, considering that he had suggested this as a way to help you sleep, and now he found himself in the same predicament.

 

“I can’t…help it,” you all but gasped as he slowly added a second finger, swirling them around your heated core before dipping a bit deeper. He turned his wrist _just so_ , his knuckles brushing up against a hidden place that was so often missed. This made you stiffen in surprise, not having expected him to find it so easily.

 

The hand that was rested over his came up, and you placed it against the side of his face. For a moment, you noticed that he paused at the feel of your bare skin caressing his. It wasn’t often that members of the Organization had skin-to-skin contact like this, thanks to the uniforms that covered almost everything. You turned your head towards him, tilting it up, and hoping he would get the hint.

 

He did. The kiss was more passionate this time, more demanding. There was no chance to come up for air as he devoured your mouth, and you felt his arm pull you more tightly against him. It looked like this wasn’t simply about giving you relief so that you could finally get some rest; you could feel him pressing against you quite obviously; he wasn’t even bothering to try and hide it. Not that you minded; it only made you want him more. But would he let you…?

 

You lowered your arm, first to rest against your own leg, but soon, it began to creep stealthily towards him. It was hard to focus on what you were doing as he flicked his tongue along the seam of your lips, and you opened your mouth, allowing him deeper access. He wasted no time in sweeping inside, not giving you much of a chance to reciprocate. That was all right – you had your own plans in mind. As much as you were enjoying the kiss, it had to stop, if you were going to concentrate. Already, your other hand had gone still from where it had been manipulating your flesh, though his was still hard at work, blissfully unaware of what you were about to do.

 

At the first gentle touch of your fingers over his length, Axel stiffened, going completely still in surprise. He broke the kiss with a sharp inhalation, making you smirk.

 

“Something wrong?” you asked innocently, going still, though your hand was still rested on the hard length of flesh you could feel beneath the fabric of his pants.

 

He gave you a look that plainly said that he wasn’t falling for your act; you had known _exactly_ what you were doing. “I thought this was supposed to help you sleep,” he pointed out. “That’s not going to happen if you don’t try to relax.”

 

“Maybe I don’t _want_ to relax right now,” you replied stubbornly, all of your earlier shyness forgotten. Your body was too full of desire for him to remember to be nervous. “Maybe I want…” You turned slightly in his hold, finding the buttons that held his pants closed and tugging suggestively at the top one. “…to take advantage of having you here with me.”

 

The top button popped open, and you slipped your hand beneath the bottom of his coat, fingers finding the smooth V of flesh that had been revealed by the loosening of the garment. It was his turn to shudder as you traced along it, savoring the feel of his abdomen. Being slender rather than bulky, he didn’t have the bulging muscles that some of the bigger members no doubt had, but you could still feel the strength beneath the skin as you blindly explored.

 

“Your coat is in the way,” you protested, reaching up to unfasten the chain that decorated his chest, and then grasped the top zipper, beginning to draw it down. He didn’t protest as you did this, though he had to lean back, and draw his fingers from your core so he could slide his arms through the sleeves. At the same time, he also removed the other glove. As the long garment slid from his body, you couldn’t help but let your gaze roam over him.

 

For a few moments, all you could do was stare, taking him in from the top of his head, all the way down to his waist. You couldn’t resist; you _had_ to touch him. All thoughts of why you were even doing this in the first place melted away, and you turned over onto your side, resting your hands on his shoulders and tracing slowly down his arms. You didn’t think you had ever been so entranced with a man before, and to feel it _now_ , when you had no heart, was ironic enough to make you give a short chuckle.

 

Axel arched one eyebrow at the sound.. “What’s so funny?”

 

“Nothing. I just…didn’t think things would turn out this way, that’s all.”

 

“Are you complaining?” The raised eyebrow was accompanied by a wicked smirk; he already knew the answer to this.

 

“Not in the least,” you confirmed, your hands moving from his arms to his chest, then down over his stomach, where you unbuttoned the second clasp holding his pants closed. By the time the third and final one came free, an idea was forming in your mind, but you didn’t know if he would agree to it or not. It would be a huge leap from what you were currently doing; a bold choice for you, but one that you found you wanted to try.

 

Hooking your fingers into the material of his pants, you slowly drew them down, your nails scratching ever so gently along his thighs. He took control, then, kicking the garment the rest of the way off, along with his boots, and you got your first look at him completely unclothed. Graceful and lithe, he reclined on his side, propped up on one elbow. You hadn’t imagined it the first time you saw him; his skin had a faint dusky shadow to it, though it was nowhere near as deep as the skin tone of the Organization’s leader. Your eyes took in the smooth lines of his body, lingering when you reached the apex of his thighs. He was bigger than you thought he would be; this might end up hurting a bit. But you found you didn’t care. It would be worth it… _so_ worth it.

 

Just as you began to lean forward again, he sat up, stopping you with a hand against your chest. “Hold on, now. Doesn’t this seem a little unfair? Here I am completely undressed, and you haven’t returned the favor. I think that needs to change.”

 

You blinked, but then smiled. “All right, if you insist.” Settling back, you nodded down at yourself, inviting him to undress you in return.

 

Deft fingers immediately went to work removing the chain at the top; the only thing keeping the garment on your body, as the zipper was already drawn down far enough that it slipped from your shoulders the moment the silver adornment came free.

 

Shimmying out of it, you kicked the coat aside, adding it to the pile of clothes on the floor next to your bed. Again, you tried to close the distance between the two of you, but Axel stopped you, pressing you back down onto the blankets. He resituated himself so that he was on his hands and knees above you, and leaned down to plant a kiss between your breasts. Slowly, he began to trail down the center of your body, leaving a line of heated kisses in his wake, punctuated by the occasional soft bite.

 

When he reached the span of flesh just below your navel, your body tensed up; he wasn’t showing any signs of stopping, and that meant…

 

_Ohh…_

 

Just before he reached his destination, he paused, laying down on his stomach, his arms curling around your thighs and pulling them open. “I’m going to make _sure_ you’ll able to sleep after this. Besides…” His expression turned devilish. “I’ve been wondering what you taste like; I think it’s past time I found out.”

 

His words alone were enough to send a surge of heat through you – he had been thinking about this even before tonight? – but what came next had you arching up off the bed as his tongue found your sensitive folds, lavishing you with a slow swipe designed to cover you from bottom to top, and drinking in your essence.

 

It was unlike anything you had ever felt before; hot and wet, it changed the quality of the pleasure you had felt before into something entirely new. It wasn’t as sharp as when you touched yourself, but it was _different_ , and you found yourself wanting more.

 

Axel waited until you had settled down before giving you another long lick, his tongue dancing around your entrance, then moving up to find the bud that was guaranteed to leave you moaning. He paused for a moment, considering your taste. “Sweet,” he murmured, almost to himself, before taking the nerve cluster into his mouth, sucking on the delicate bud while his tongue flickered rapidly over it.

 

The pleasure you were feeling suddenly intensified, and you would have bucked your hips up to meet him, had he not anticipated your movements, and pressed down on them, keeping you in place. Heat flooded your center, spiraling into a tightness that had you quivering beneath his expert treatment.

 

Though your own eyes were closed, head tilted back in sheer bliss, you could feel his gaze on you; he was watching your reactions carefully. Ordinarily, this might have embarrassed you, but at the moment, you didn’t particularly care whether he was studying you so intently, as long as he didn’t stop.

 

Your legs had begun to tremble by this point, and your fingers were curled tightly into the blankets as you fought to keep still, knowing that motion would only make things more difficult for him. But it was so hard not to move; you wanted to keep as much contact with him as you possibly could, even though he didn’t need any guidance; he seemed to know _exactly_ what to do, alternating between slow licks and rapid flicks of his tongue over every inch of your slick core. His mouth was everywhere at once, building up the sensations you were feeling until you felt like you might drown in the pleasure.

 

Suddenly, his fingers were there, picking up exactly where they had left off, parting your folds and slipping inside of you with little resistance. You gasped as he did that trick with his wrist, brushing against that place deep within you, over and over again. Slowly, he prodded at you with a third finger, easing it into your snug passage.

 

Your breath caught in your throat; the pleasure he was continuing to give you overrode most of the discomfort, but you still felt him stretching your inner walls, felt them gripping him tightly enough to make him pause, allowing you to get used to the intrusion. Slowly, as you began to relax around him, he resumed the motion, though his mouth had never let up.

 

The tension in your abdomen continued to grow, and still Axel continued, his mouth focusing on the bundle of nerves that made you moan so sweetly, while his fingers never slackened their now-rapid pace within you. There was determination in his actions; he wasn’t going to stop until he made you climax, and what a release it promised to be. No matter what he did, the coil within you never broke, but continued to build, winding tighter and tighter with every flick of his tongue, every turn of his wrist.

 

Just when you were sure that you couldn’t take any more, when you were beginning to cross the threshold into pain, the pressure finally _snapped_ , and a torrent of searing fire shot through you. Wave after wave of pleasure cascaded over you, making you convulse beneath him as he drank in your nectar, making sure not to miss a single sweet drop. Your senses dimmed, and all you could feel was the all-consuming sensations that refused to die down. All the while, he continued lapping at your core, determined to draw out every last bit of pleasure he possibly could. You didn’t know how long your release went on; it felt like _hours_ , though it couldn’t have been more than twenty or thirty seconds, at the very most. One thing was for sure; it had _never_ lasted that long before.

 

Finally, Axel raised his head and licked his lips clean of any lingering trace of your essence, a self-satisfied look on his handsome face. Crawling up over your smaller body, he stretched out beside you, propping his head up on one hand as he watched you bask in the hazy euphoria of a climax that was stronger than anything you had ever felt in the past. Faint aftershocks rippled through you, causing you to tremble occasionally.

 

He reached up to trace lazy circles over your stomach, and watched as you twitched at his touch; he knew that your body was hypersensitive at the moment, and he had to be careful until you came down from it. Touch the wrong place when you were like this, and it would cause discomfort.

 

“Was that the first time someone did that to you?” he asked curiously. You’d certainly had a strong reaction to his ministrations, making him wonder just how much experience you actually had with things like this.

 

“I’ve been with someone before, once… But he never… I mean, we didn’t…” Struggling with the right words, you finally gave up and simply shrugged. “Yeah, it was.”

 

Well, that explained a lot. So you weren’t a virgin, but you might as well have been, for the apparently neglectful treatment your partner at the time had given you. He would have to correct that, and soon. It was a shame to be unfamiliar with a touch other than your own. But that could wait for now; you seemed exhausted.

 

Leaning forward, he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, and you turned towards him, burying your face in his neck. “Can you sleep now?” he murmured, letting you snuggle close.

 

“I could…if I was ready to go to sleep,” you replied, your voice still a bit weak. Slowly, your strength was beginning to return, and you didn’t want him to leave, thinking the night was done. You were far from finished with him yet.

 

The hand rested on your stomach went still. “Oh?” he questioned, though his voice wasn’t really curious so much as knowing; he probably knew that you had no intention of leaving things as they were. Although your own arousal had died down for the moment, his was far from satiated, and you weren’t about to leave him like that. You hadn’t had your fill of him yet…then again, maybe you never would.

 

Tilting your head back slightly, you kissed the underside of his jaw, making him give an appreciative hum. At the same time, one hand reached down to curl around his erect length. As you tightened your grip, his hips reflexively jerked forward ever so slightly, and you smiled. He had to be uncomfortable like this…that just wouldn’t do. Up until now, he had been focused on your pleasure alone, and it was high time he had some relief of his own.

 

You seemed to come alive against him, pushing the tiredness you had been feeling aside. There would be plenty of time for you to sleep after this; Axel was much more important.

 

Slowly, gently, you began to stroke him, feeling the moisture that had collected at the tip of his length. You gathered up as much of it as you could, using it to lubricate the surprisingly velvety skin beneath your fingers. Much to your delight, your actions drew a soft moan from him; you wanted to hear that sound again.

 

Your actions were hesitant at first, as you didn’t know what it was he liked, but he had figured you out on his own – you could do the same. Slowly, your fingers glided from tip to base, then back again, and you marginally tightened your hold with each downward stroke. When you reached the top again, your thumb pressed against the underside, and he twitched in your hand.

 

So, he liked that, did he?

 

Closing the distance between the two of you, you leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Turn over onto your back.” Without giving him a chance to reply, you kissed him deeply, and realized that you could faintly taste yourself on his lips. Somehow, that just made you even more determined to do what you had planned next.

 

Removing his hand from where it was rested against your side, he caught himself on his elbows, leaving him propped up enough that he could watch you. That was fine; you wanted to be able to see the expression on his face when he figured it out.

 

You began the same way he had, trailing kisses down the center of his chest. The entire time, your hand continued to stroke him, and you listened as his breathing became a bit heavier as the pleasure he was feeling increased a notch in response to the varying tightness of your grip.

 

By the time you were halfway down his stomach, his eyes – darkened now to a deep green by desire and arousal, though this was difficult to see, as the blackness of his dilated pupils had eclipsed most of the beautiful orbs – widened, and he suddenly sat up, reaching towards you as if he would pull you away.

 

“Whoa, whoa! Hey; you don’t have to do that…”

 

You leaned back out of his reach, an impish smile on your face that rivaled the grin Larxene sometimes had when she was in a mood to cause mischief. “But why not? Doesn’t that seem a little unfair to you?” you asked, echoing his words from earlier. “You did it for me; I should return the favor.”

 

He blinked, not having expected you to turn his own words against him like this. “It’s not about returning favors,” he protested, making a second attempt to reach for you, though again, you remained just out of range. “You shouldn’t feel like you _have_ to do something just because someone else did.”

 

“I know. I’m doing it because I _want_ to.” One hand came up, and you tapped a finger against your temple. “Got it memorized?”

 

There was a moment of silence, and then he gave a short laugh. You had stumped him with that; there was nothing he could say to dissuade you, and he sank back down onto his elbows with a sigh of amused resignation.

 

When you were sure that he wasn’t going to try and stop you again, you resumed what you had been doing, though there was now a faint knot of nervousness forming within you. You had just admitted that you had never tried this before, and you were afraid that you might disappoint him, especially after that spectacular performance he had given you.

 

Placing one hand against his thigh, you kept the other wrapped around him, knowing that you would never be able to manage his entire length with your mouth. To begin with, you gave the tip a tentative lick, tasting him for the first time. Where he’d said that you were sweet, by contrast, he was salty, and a bit bitter. You considered his flavor for a moment; it wasn’t bad by any means.

 

He had tensed up as your tongue touched him, and he had yet to relax as you made your way down his shaft, alternating between licking and kissing the flesh. When you reached the base, you made your way back up, and your hand began stroking him again as you took the head into your mouth, sucking gently.

 

This got an automatic reaction from him; he inhaled sharply, and you felt his legs trembling as he fought to keep still. He had more restraint than you did, as he managed to remain where he was, where you’d had to be held down. A thought came to you, then; what if you mimicked the technique he had used on you?

 

You took him in a little farther, your tongue flickering over the bottom, and then up to the very tip, where you began drawing random patterns over the sensitive skin.

 

A quiet gasp reached your ears; perhaps you were worrying for nothing. He seemed to like what you were doing.

 

Slowly, carefully, you tightened your mouth around him, and pushed him a bit farther in, being extremely careful not to let him hit the back of your throat. You had to stop a little less than halfway down his length, but he didn’t seem to want to force you down any more than that. He hadn’t once moved his hips, letting you set the pace and the depth that you took him in, which you were grateful for.

 

Agonizingly slowly, you drew back off of him, keeping the tension as tight as you possibly could without letting your teeth scrape him. As he left your mouth, your tongue darted across the underside, drawing a line up the middle, then flicking across the ridge at the top. You pulled off of him almost completely before dipping back down, a bit quicker this time, though you slowed as he went deeper in, so you didn’t choke.

 

Without thinking, you swallowed, and felt his body suddenly stiffen beneath you. This made you pause. You hadn’t really considered the effect that might have on him, but then you realized; the head was most definitely the most sensitive, and by swallowing, you had created more pressure on him than you had meant to. Interesting…

 

As you pulled back, you heightened the tension around him as much as your possibly could. This time, when you reached the tip, you began a series of quick bobs, only taking him in a quarter of the way, rather than half, as you had done before. That had to be done carefully, but you were going more for speed than precision at the moment.

 

To make up for it, your tongue picked up the slack, and you kept the pressure around him constant. A ragged moan tore from his throat, the primal sound sending a jolt of electricity straight to your core. Even though you had just had one of the strongest climaxes of your life – both when you were still whole and as a Nobody – you found that your desire for him hadn’t slackened at all, even if the desperation from earlier had thankfully died away. This made it easier for you to concentrate and enjoy what you were doing, rather than being single-mindedly driven towards release.

 

Suddenly, you felt his hand on the back of your head. But instead of pushing you down, as you had halfway expected him to do, instead, he twined his fingers gently through your hair for a moment before reaching down to cup your chin and lifting you up.

 

“That’s enough,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I’m getting too close.”

 

So, it seemed that he didn’t want to finish in your mouth, then. That suited you; there was still more than you wanted to do with him. But you weren’t about to let him go unsatisfied – there was another way that he could find his own release.

 

You let him pull you up,  and placed your hands on either side of his body, crawling towards him. Slowly, you leaned forward, unsure if he would let you kiss him when you could still taste him in your mouth, but to your surprise, he allowed it, tangling his tongue with yours as each of you battled to take control. He won, his own arms coming up to wrap around you, and switch your positions so that he was kneeling over you, breathing hard. He was trembling, you noticed; no wonder, really – he had gone all this time without release, and had just been driven to the brink without being able to cross it. Well, you would soon remedy that.

 

Just as he was reaching down to take hold of his length and finish himself off, you stopped him, shaking your head. “Don’t. Not yet.”  You parted your thighs, placing your hands on his waist and tugging at him.

 

He was quick to pick up on your hint, but he hesitated. “Are you sure?”

 

You nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. “Completely sure.” The moment he had convinced you to resume touching yourself, this had become your ultimate goal, and you had no intention of letting him talk you out of it, especially when he was so clearly in discomfort. That he was concerned for you was touching, if unnecessary.

 

“You’re tight,” he warned you, taking himself in hand and rubbing the tip against your folds. Both of you were still slick; you from your earlier release, and him from your mouth, so there was little preparation to do, and you found yourself moving your hips a bit impatiently. “But I’ll be gentle.”

 

His earlier work in stretching you had helped a bit, but he was right; as he slowly slid into you, your walls spread uncomfortably to accommodate him. As he pressed forward, centimeter by centimeter, his breath hitched in his throat; you were squeezing him like a vice – it felt exquisite, but he knew that you weren’t feeling the same thing he was. With this in mind, he paused every now and then, waiting until he felt your muscles begin to relax around him before he continued.

 

Finally, he was seated fully within you, and he leaned down, peppering your throat with gentle kisses. He found the place where your neck met your shoulder, and bit down on it hard enough that you knew it would leave a mark, but you didn’t care. He could mark you as many times as he wanted to. But this made you shudder against him, and then again when you felt one hand slide between the two of you, finding the still-sensitive bud above where the two of you were joined, and his fingers began to glide over it, helping to alleviate some of the discomfort.

 

You could feel the straining of his body against yours, and knew it was taking all of his self-control not to plunge into you with abandon. He was waiting on you to tell him that he could move, you realized. Reaching up, you twined your arms around the back of his head, and pulled him into another kiss. Instead of speaking, you began to move your hips, though without proper leverage, you couldn’t do much.

 

It took only a moment before you felt Axel start to rock against you, beginning with shallow strokes that caressed your inner walls almost tenderly, if such a thing were possible. The discomfort you had felt before was rapidly diminishing, to be replaced by a faint pleasure that began deep inside of you.

 

When he was sure that you weren’t in pain, he quickened his pace a bit, taking your legs and hooking them over his hips. This allowed him to reach farther into your depths, at a slightly different angle. It wasn’t long before he had set up a steady rhythm, and the faint pleasure you had been feeling began to blossom, spreading out through you.

 

His arms suddenly wrapped around your back, and he lifted you up. With his long legs tucked beneath him, he placed you in his lap, straddling him. He continued to thrust into you, with a bit more force this time. A moan rose up in your throat, and he swallowed it up with a kiss, his hands roaming over the smooth skin of your back.

 

It wasn’t long before you were moving with him, raising your hips as he withdrew, only to drop back down into his lap on the return stroke, meeting him halfway. Like this, your breasts rubbed enticingly against his own chest, and he leaned you back far enough that he could take one of the soft mounds into his mouth, his tongue flicking over the tip.

 

From this angle, he was brushing against that spot within you he had discovered earlier, and you gasped as the pleasure twisted, morphing into something with a slightly different flavor. You threw your head back, closing your eyes, and Axel couldn’t help but watch as your face reflected the sensations that you were feeling. This image of you would be ingrained into his mind for quite some time, he knew.

 

All discomfort was forgotten as you rode him; all you could feel was the almost-overwhelming sensations of him within you, his arms wrapped around you, his mouth on you. The two of you were the only things that existed in this world – just the two of you, and the pleasure you were giving each other. Your separate moans, his deep and rough, yours quiet and gentle, mixed into a single harmony that you wouldn’t soon forget.

 

You didn’t want the moment to end, but all too soon, you felt the familiar pressure beginning to build within you, though it wasn’t as strong as it had been before. That didn’t matter, though; another climax that strong might very well make you pass out, and you didn’t want that.

 

Axel felt your body begin to tense in his hold, and he held you tightly. “Are you close?” he murmured into your ear. You weren’t the only one; he was on the very edge, himself – the slightest push would send him over the edge.

 

That push came when your inner walls began to flutter around his length; you hadn’t even had the chance to say anything before you had clamped down on him as your climax sank its claws into you, dragging you forcefully down from the heights he had driven you to. The cry that followed turned into his name, and this in turn caused him to spill himself into your warm depths, a ragged moan tearing from his throat at the intensity of the pleasure that seared through him.

 

He held you tightly as the two of you rode out your releases, and finally, when you had stopped convulsing around him, he withdrew from you, lowering you gently onto the bed and curling up around your exhausted form. His arms wrapped around you, and you turned over onto your side, snuggling up against him and tucking your head beneath his chin. Reaching down, he picked up his discarded coat, drawing it over the both of you.

 

“Stay with me?” you murmured, unconsciousness already beginning to tug at you. Now, you were well and truly worn out, but you still had the presence of mind to want him next to you as you slept.

 

He smiled, gently stroking your hair, which was damp from your exertions. “Always,” he replied, resting his chin against the top of your head.

 

 _Always_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I admit, I took some liberties with the mission. I don't know for sure if the members of the Organization can actually access the Realm of Darkness, but I remember a specific cutscene showing Roxas and Xemnas on the beach, which leads me to believe that they can, in fact, go there on occasion.


End file.
